I Went on a Date with an Older Italian Man Abroad and Wanted to Run Away

Let me just start by saying: the girls on TikTok who swear by dating older foreign men for luxury dinners and Chanel bags? I salute you. But after my little adventure, I’m not sure I’m built for it.
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So here’s the scene: I’m sitting at the bar in my hotel, minding my business, when an older Italian man strikes up a conversation. And when I say older, I mean older. He looked his age—and then some—but he wasn’t hideous. Not at all. Still, my mama raised me on common sense, and my gut said, “girl, no.” But my curious side said, “do it for the plot.” And so, I let him talk.

He was one of those men who loves to list his accomplishments like it’s a LinkedIn profile. Homes in Dubai. Properties in Italy. All kinds of business dealings. I nodded politely, sipping my drink, while my inner voice whispered, Maybe he’ll gift me a Chanel bag—stranger things have happened. When he asked for my number and offered to take me to dinner, I thought, why not? Auntie’s still got it.

Now, one thing I actually did appreciate? He suggested an early dinner. And let me tell you, that was music to my ears. I’m not the “late night clubbing, dinner at 10 p.m.” type of girl. My bedtime is closer to 9 p.m. than midnight, so the fact that he wanted to eat while the sun was still out? Points for that.

We walked to the restaurant, which had the most stunning skyline view. It really did feel like something out of a movie—until he opened his mouth.

The entire dinner was him telling me how beautiful I was. Over and over again. Now listen, I’m not about to act brand new. I know I’m beautiful. Compliments are nice, but there’s only so many times a man can say “you’re so beautiful” before it loses its charm. Like sir, I heard you the first time. Switch it up. Add some adjectives. Something!

And if that wasn’t enough, he kept repeating the same stories he told me back at the bar. Literally word for word, as if I wasn’t sitting there catching every recycled line. At this point, I realized two things: 1) This man doesn’t have a lot of depth and 2) this is why I could never be one of those girlies who date older men for perks. Even men I’m fully attracted to annoy me sometimes, so an older man repeating himself like a broken record? Chile, this wasn’t it.

By the time the food came, I had already decided I was taking mine to-go. I smiled, I nodded, I gave polite “mmhmms” until I could gracefully wrap things up. And as soon as it felt appropriate, I asked for a box, packed it up, and told him I needed to get back.

Now, I thought that would be the end of it. Oh no. This man might’ve been older, but his persistence was youthful. The moment I got back to my room, my WhatsApp started blowing up. Messages back-to-back. He wanted me to come down for another drink. He wanted to see me again before he left London the next day. And then—this is where I really drew the line—he kept asking for my room number.

Absolutely not. Sir, this is not Taken, and Liam Neeson is not about to show up. I blocked, I ignored, and I thanked God that he was flying out the next morning.

So what did I learn? That dating older men abroad might work for some, but it’s not for me. I’ll happily let an Italian man buy me dinner with a skyline view, but the Chanel bag? Baby, I’ll buy it myself.