All the Single Ladies: 'Who should pay on a date?'

9Honey journalist and single gal Sarah Swain knows a thing or two about dating. She's been on the apps, read the books, and interviewed the experts, which makes her uniquely able to answer your questions to do with the frustrations of single life. Got one for her? email sswain@nine.com.au

I met a guy after swapping numbers, he texted me saying he'd like to catch up. I said I was free on the weekend and he said he'd get back to me…but he never did. I texted him a week later and asked if he still wanted to catch up, so we made a date and went out for dinner. We had great conversation and our food got cold as we were talking and laughing so much! When the bill came, he asked me if we could split it. That's not the problem though, at the end of the night he didn't kiss me and he never text me again. Was he only interested in friendship? Should I have known when he didn't offer to pay for dinner?Let's break this one down…but I think all the clues add up to the same answer here.

First, the guy indicated he was keen to meet up, but then neglected to arrange it.

It was only when you took the lead you actually got something in the diary.

From that, I figure he was keen to meet, but for some reason just couldn't be bothered to actually nail it down.

Perhaps your agreement was just a bit of an ego boost for him?

And, I know it's 2018, but by you taking the lead here, I kind of feel like he wasn't that keen after all and maybe changed his mind. He was the one who texted in the first place – why else wouldn't he follow up?

Anyway, it's great you had such a fun time and you're obviously an entertaining and interesting person to hang out with.

But, now what you're really asking is the classic question – who should pay on a date? And not just any date, a first date.

RELATED: All the Single Ladies: 'Should I Google my date?'

Well, personally I'm old fashioned. Sorry, but I'd be lying if I said anything other than the guy should pay.

I'm not saying money should be flashed around to impress, but, in my opinion, it certainly makes a woman feel special if a man takes care of the bill – especially if they invited you out.

Also, what raises red flags for me is, not only did you not offer to go Dutch - something I generally do but men usually decline - he actually asked you to split the bill!

I'm sorry, but in my view, that's just rude!

(And I appreciate folk these days go on a lot more dates than they used to. That's why you should generally never do more than drinks on a first date – not only does it mean you're not stuck with somebody you potentially can't stand for hours in a restaurant but it means the damage isn't too much either.)

Anyway, I don't think this man was just interested in friendship either -  a guy doesn't usually ask a new gal pal out for dinner.

And who ghosts a friend after a catch up dinner?

RELATED: All the Single Ladies: 'Why hasn't he texted me after our date?'

So, he was indeed interested in you as a date, but I just sense a whole lot of lethargy about him.

He could be just out of a relationship, or a long-time bachelor who isn’t used to taking women out, or he could be simply a bit lazy.

You'll probably never know.

So, I'm sorry to say, my advice here is move on!