For many lonely hearts living in the UK, the idea of dating is something heavily dreaded.
With a huge surge in low-commitment, casual 'flings' and a reliance on online dating nowadays, those hoping to find that special someone are likely to be left colossally underwhelmed.
As was the case of one particular singleton, who became so sick of the lacklustre online dating pool that she booked herself a flight to Spain in the hope of returning home with 'the One'.
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London girl Celeste Harley had been single for around six years when she made the decision to take her love life into her own hands, having gotten 'bored' of her home-city's 'disposable' views on romance.
"I was always sitting on the edge and waiting for someone to let me down," she said.
"I've gone through stages of wanting to put myself out there and then becoming burned out by it and taking a six-month break. I was struggling to find someone that aligned with my values."
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Despite viewing online dating as 'bleak', like many of us, 28-year-old Celeste was signed up to some of the most popular apps, including Hinge.
Following numerous unsuccessful dates, one day, a particular attractive user appeared as a suggestion on the app's 'Explore' page, immediately sparking her interest.
After matching with him, she and the Malaga-born dater 'immediately hit it off' and, within a matter of weeks, he'd managed to win her over entirely by inviting her to fly over and meet him in real life.
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"He was asking me a lot of questions," she gushed. "I'm quite bad at replying on there, which is sort of feeding into the problem. It got quite in-depth conversation quite quickly."
After agreeing to meet up and forking out £250 on flights, Celeste couldn't wait to see what the future had in-store for the couple, but says she refused to allow herself to have high expectations.
"I was happy to do it for the adventure and because I am pretty sick of London," she admitted.
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"I thought 'even if this doesn't go well, it's worth it for how exciting the build up has been.'
"But I did have people on standby if things did go pear-shaped."
Celeste went on to document her brave decision on TikTok, going on to share a video captioned: "When London dating is so bad you have to go international."
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Within a matter of days, she went on to claim that the trip overseas was one of the best decisions she'd ever made, revealing that she and her new Spanish beau had enjoyed several dates, gone for dinner and even gotten tattoos, all within the space of 48 hours.
"I was really nervous but also excited," she said. "I have a tendency to over romanticise everything.
"It was a lot of time to spend with one person but he went out of his way to make me feel very, very comfortable. He paid for where we stayed and was very generous.
"It felt like that's what life's about - doing exciting things and taking risks. Fortunately for me, it did go well."
Though she refuses to let herself become too invested, in an exciting update, Celeste reveals that she and her Spanish hunk have continued chatting since she returned home, and that she's even returned the favour by inviting him over to London.
"We've decided to make the whole 'across country' situation work."
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Topics: Sex and Relationships, Travel, Money, UK News
Rhianna Benson