What does it mean if a date lasted longer than expected?
11/04/25 6:00pm
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If your date lasted longer than you expected, it's a good sign that it went really well! Most first dates tend to last anywhere between 1-2 hours, so a longer date means the other person probably felt a strong connection with you, had a fun time, and wanted to continue bonding.
When the vibe is good between you and your date, try to keep the natural conversation going. After finishing one activity, like grabbing a coffee, suggest something else like going for a walk or getting dinner, to extend your time together.
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When the vibe is good between you and your date, try to keep the natural conversation going. After finishing one activity, like grabbing a coffee, suggest something else like going for a walk or getting dinner, to extend your time together.
A date lasting longer than expected is generally a good sign, as long as you’re choosing to continue the date or do different activities together because you are enjoying it. Most of the time, it's a good sign that you want to spend more time with this person, and that person also wants to spend more time with you.
Sometimes, though, people get stuck in this cycle of not wanting to disappoint the other person, and they end up spending more time with them to not seem rude. If it’s continuing because you’re not comfortable communicating that you’re not enjoying the date and walking away, then that’s different.
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Sometimes, though, people get stuck in this cycle of not wanting to disappoint the other person, and they end up spending more time with them to not seem rude. If it’s continuing because you’re not comfortable communicating that you’re not enjoying the date and walking away, then that’s different.
This is a complicated one, because if it's a first date, I don't necessarily think it's a good sign. You would probably think so initially, right? Logically, it would make sense that a long date is a good sign. However, what I found from my 100 date experiment and years of coaching people is to think about early dates as a really good TV show. You want to leave them wanting more. A good TV show will end on a cliffhanger, making you think "Wow, I've gotta see the next episode!". Right? You want to do that with a first date, too, because a first date is about establishing, do I trust this person, do we have a good rapport, and maybe, is there physical attraction here? That's all the first date needs to be about. And so, if we leave them wanting more, then they're going to get curious about us, and mystery is what breeds desire. We don't want to know everything about them right up front. When people say that their first date was hours and hours and hours long, it can eliminate that fun sense of mystery. That's why I tend to recommend that a first date be one hour or less. That changes for the second date, but you need to see them in a new context in a new place.
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