Relationships Talk

Another batch of seven famous singles are set to take on the dating scene once again in Celebs Go Dating.

And the best bit? They’re dating just us normal folk. Well, if you applied to be on the show and ‘date a celeb’ that is.

The sixth series of the E4 dating show hasn’t got an official start date just yet but it is set to be just around the corner.

It’s only been a few months since the last series aired and saw a change to the line-up.

Eden and Nadia are no longer agents on the E4 show (Image: Channel 4)

Dating expert Eden Blackman left the show before the start of the 2018 series and was replaced by American Paul Carrick Brunson who founded award-winning matchmaking business PCB Agency.

The 2019 series is also set to have a new look as Eden’s former co-star Nadia Essex also made a departure after being “suspended” by Channel 4.

Taking her place will be TV presenter and life coach Anna Williamson. The 37-year-old has appeared as an expert on a whole host of television shows including This Morning and Good Morning Britain.

Anna Williamson is a life coach as well as a TV presenter (Image: Daily Record)

But fans of the reality series do have something to look forward to as show favourite Tom Read Wilson will be back as the agencies receptionist and celebrity confidante.

So which celebrities are taking part this year? Here’s the full run down.

Chelsee Healey

Signed up to the agency is Manchester-born Chelsee Healey, who is now best known for being a part of the McQueen clan in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

Manchester-born Chelsee is one of the celebs taking part (Image: Eddy Gosht)

As well as Hollyoaks, Chelsee also played a major role in BBC school drama series Waterloo Road for six years where she played Janeece Bryant before moving on to Casualty.

Georgia Steel

We know she is loyal but how will Love Island star Georgia Steel handle the advice of the agents?

The 20-year-old became a massive talking point this summer when she appeared on the ITV2 dating show for using the word loyal more times than we have had hot dinners.

She did have a bit of a rocky road during the show after potential love interest Josh Denzel chose other contestant, and now girlfriend, Kaz Crossley to couple up with.

Georgia with ex Sam Bird (Image: Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images)

She left the show coupled up with 25-year-old Sam Bird but they ended their whirlwind romance with a public showdown.

Sam Thompson

No stranger to reality TV or the Celebs Go Dating agency for that matter is Sam Thompson as he returns for another crack at the world of dating.

The Made In Chelsea star took part in the programmes fourth series in 2018 but after returning to MIC, the star found romance with co-star Sophie Habboo which, you guessed it, didn’t quite work out.

Sam has already enlisted the agency’s help once (Image: Channel 4)

Sam said: “I’ve had a rough old run in the love stakes so I’m back to my spiritual home at the dating agency!

“It’s about time I got lucky in love, so let’s see if this time round I can find that special someone!”

Pete Wicks

The Only Way is Essex star Pete Wick is swapping one reality show for another as he joins the agency.

He was last seen dating TOWIE co-star Shelby Tribble before calling it quits after eight months.

TOWIE star Pete has already dated another celeb on the agency’s books (Image: Ian West/PA Wire)

The ITVBe show aired a dramatic row between the pair in which Shelby accused the 30-year-old of texting other girls behind her back.

Let’s see how he gets on under the agents watchful eyes.

Kerry Katona

Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona is no stranger to a headline about her latest romantic link but now she will be looking for love on TV.

The mum-of-five was married to former Westlife Brian McFadden for four years between 2002 and 2006. She has since been married a further two times.

Kerry Katona was looking for singles to date on Celebs Go Dating (Image: Kerry Katona/Instagram)

Kerry has said about her part in the show: “I’ve never done anything like this before. If what I’ve been doing before hasn’t been working I may as well try something new!

“I’ve been on dating apps but to be honest they didn’t work. I’m so excited to be joining the agency and see who Anna and Paul set me up with!”

David Potts

Hoping to bring a bit of sunshine to proceedings is star of Ibiza Weekender, David Potts.

On the ITV2 show, Bolton-born David started as a receptionist before making his way through the ranks to become head rep where is in charge of hiring and firing.

David is aiming big going into Celebs Go Dating commenting that he hopes to be leaving engaged. No pressure agents.

Megan McKenna

The final star to join the series was former TOWIE star Megan McKenna and fans may remember her fiery relationship with Pete Wicks – could it be awkward?

Megan has made her name as a reality star after appearing on Ex on the Beach and Celebrity Big Brother.

Megan Mckenna is no stranger to reality TV (Image: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

She is also a country singer and released her debut album Story Of Me at the end of 2018 following her ITVBe show, There’s Something About Megan, saw her head off to Nashville to kick start her music career.

By Brian A Jackson/shutterstock

by Julie Nealon | January 4, 2019

Here’s a list of dating jargon for newly single parent. The new year brings forth a lot of goals and resolutions, and perhaps getting back into the dating scene is one of yours. Dating as a single parent is exciting and slightly terrifying. Maybe it’s been ten years since you’ve sat across from a person who wasn’t your baby daddy or mama. In my experience, so far, it’s been a lot of fun getting to know new people. I’ve had my ego (and maybe some other things) stroked, and I’ve also had my heart and expectations smashed a little. It can be really tough to meet new people. It’s not like you’re going to meet the man of your dreams at the P.T.A. meeting, wouldn’t that make life so easy.

By v.scaperrotta/shutterstock

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List of Dating Jargon To Keep You Updated

You’ve got to put yourself out here and be receptive. Maybe you’ve met someone, and they’re being really slow to take the leap from texting to an actual face-to-face date. There I said it, the ‘D’ word. It seems to scare the sh*t out of some people. I’ve found myself avoiding it sometimes, texting with someone for weeks, but never actually meeting them. I don’t know if I’m scared, or if I’m just not that interested. There’s one thing that I’ve noticed myself doing, and I’ve got to stop. Bread-crumbing. Have you heard that word before? I’m not talking about cooking here.

I do something that I’ve heard my girlfriends cry about. Just yesterday, a friend of mine was telling me about her frustrations with a guy she’d been seeing. “He texts me every once in a while, just when I’m about to give up on him and move on I get a text.” I told her that he was breadcrumbing her. Paying her just the tiniest amount of attention, the bare minimum to keep her interested. He was dangling the proverbial carrot. The words had barely come out of my mouth when I realized I’ve been doing that. I’m not doing this to hurt someone purposefully. It’s selfishly for my own ego. Even though I’m not really interested in the guy, I’ll string him along so that I never have to feel alone. I’m that a**hole.

My friend was flabbergasted. How had she never heard of this term before and how in the h*ll did I know about it? It was then that I realized a lot of us are probably not up to date with all of the jargon. So I’ve compiled a list of dating jargon. The more you know!

AF

You probably know this one already. AF is an acronym for ‘as f*ck.’ Tired AF, single AF… you get it.

Breadcrumbing

Sending just enough flirty, yet non-committal messages to keep someone interested. (Hi, that’s me, don’t date me, I’m an a**hole and I’ll probably break your heart. (Sorry!)

Cuffing

Winter is coming! We are deep in the midst of cuffing season. This is when the eternal singleton pairs up in the winter months to avoid being lonely, then BAM the sun comes out, and you’re ghosted. (we’ll get to that one).

Deepliking

This one is a bit stalker-ish if you ask me. I think it’s probably wise to avoid this person. Deepliking is when you scroll through a person’s social media and like every single damn picture, even from ten years ago. Ew, don’t do that, it’s creepy AF.

E-Fit

Making sure that all of your posts and pictures on social media are perfectly perfect, only posting the good ones, you know, the pictures where you look hot AF at all times.

Ghosting

When a person you’ve been talking to or dating disappears, without explanation. Poof, they’re gone.

Haunting

When said ghoster starts liking all of your social media post out of the blue.

IRL

In real life. When you finally go on a real face-to-face date with the person you’ve been talking to.

Layby

Someone who dates you, just giving the bare minimum and always keeps “better” options on the horizon.

R-Bombed

When the person you’re seeing reads your messages but doesn’t reply, you have been R-bombed. You’ve been left on read. Harsh.

Slow-Fading

A mildly kinder way of ghosting, where you slowly wind down the contact with the person you’re seeing, leaving longer and longer between your replies, until they give up. (I do this one too, ugh, I’m a terrible person)

Uncuffing

Winter is over! Dump that warm safety blanket and commence a summer of love.

YODO

Kind of like YOLO except dumping. “You only dump once.” Basically, never go back, don’t f**k the past.

Zombieing

When a ghoster suddenly starts texting you out of the blue, as if back from the grave. My advice here, drop the rope, they’ll 100% ghost you again.

So there you have it. You’re now armed with all the lingo you need to navigate the crazy dating scene. It’s time to swipe right.

By CLS Digital Arts/shutterstock

And go.

Got more to add to this list of dating jargon? Comment below.

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MORE and more people are turning to apps in a bid to find love as the stresses of daily life seemingly leave little time to find someone in real life.

But apps are also a handy way to suss out the competition, and can provide an outlet for spontaneous fun or just an interesting rummage through who’s available.

Having a dating app on your phone is as normal as having social media

Tinder

Tinder is one of the most well-known dating apps with users in 196 countries, and boasts 1.6 billion swipes per day and more than 20 billion matches per week.

Launched in 2012 the free app remains a heavyweight in the dating game, with a high chance you have either been on there yourself or know someone who is.

When signing up, you give personal info such as your name and age.

You can share a little or a lot of information about yourself, but you’re more likely to get a match the more you share.

Alamy

Tinder is the most popular dating app of the moment

There’s room for photos and you pick one to be your main image.

You have a bio to fill out, your likes are listed and if you link to Facebook it will reveal if you and a potential date have interests or friends in common.

You select who you’re interested in and an age and distance range, then you’re ready to swipe.

Clicking on someone’s picture will bring up their full profile, and Tinder has added new features such as “superlikes”, although the number of free ones are limited per day.

If someone superlikes you, you will get a notification even if you have never seen their profile, and you can choose to respond.

For others, if you’ve liked a person or they’ve liked you, once the other party presses like as well you get a match.

You will both be notified and then you can strike up a conversation.

Bumble

Founded in 2014, Bumble is a female-focused app where women make the first move and it is taking the world by storm.

Similarly to Tinder, you have a profile with photos, your name, age and likes.

Describing itself as “a movement”, they have tips on how to make a profile stand out.

They suggest making sure your first photo is your best, keep the highlight reel real, ensure to include lots of information, flaunt your ‘most special and specific self’, and ask a guy mate to give it the once over.

Alamy

Bumble aims to put women in control

On Bumble, when a man and woman match – only the woman can send the first message.

For LGBT+ users, either can make the first move within 24 hours.

The app is designed to shake up old-fashioned power dynamics by putting women in control.

But there is a time limit of 24 hours, so if no message is sent the match disappears.

For a man, they too have a 24-hour time limit to respond to a message or the match will vanish.

Grindr

Alamy

Grindr is predominantly for for gay, bi trans and queer people

Grindr advertises itself as the “world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi trans and queer people”.

Pre-dating Tinder, Grindr launched back in 2009 and has a location feature allowing people to see who’s online and nearby, and also connect with people anywhere in the world.

People can customise what type of person they’re looking for, and like Bumble and Tinder they have a swipe feature.

You can chat and share photos for free, but if you want more you can upgrade to XTRA to six times as many profiles ad-free.

How do the dating apps work?

The apps are like speed dating and a lonely hearts ad combined.

By being on there, you’re advertising that you’re looking for fun, love or a relationship, while being able to swipe through so many potentials brings in the speed dating element, trying to meet as many people at once.

Most are free but have a premium version where users can pay extra for some benefits.

After matching on the apps, conversation usually follows, but this is not always the case.

But if a chat goes well, this usually leads to a face-to-face meet-up, and potentially more dates.

In many cases love blossoms, and these apps now credit themselves with being behind weddings and children.

If you’re meeting up with someone for the first time make sure you stay safe as it still is a blind date.

Tell people where you are going and try to meet in a public place.

Bela Gandhi is the founder and president of the Smart Dating Academy, a coaching agency that helps clients “make dating fun, inspiring and focused” in their pursuit of a meaningful relationship. You can follow her and Smart Dating Academy on Instagram.

Online dating and first dates — the mere mention of these phrases can put butterflies or knots in our stomach. First, take a deep breath and realize that most people feel this way and that the purpose of dating is to have fun and relax. Second, tell yourself that this is a marathon, not a sprint, so that you set your expectations the right way.

We want instant gratification in everything we do nowadays, so tell yourself that it may take 10, 25, 50 or 100 dates to find someone you connect with. And, most importantly, it’s easier than you might think to get from messaging on an app to a bona fide date in a week or less.

Here are six ways to do it:

The first step after seeing someone you’ve liked or matched with is to message him/her proactively. In today’s age, it’s fine for either the man or woman to initiate contact, so fire away. Don’t overthink the message — you don’t need to be Shakespeare or an “SNL” comedian. Just look for things in the person’s profile that are interesting or things that you have in common. And, you can use lots of things as clues, including their photos, profile text, interests, etc. If there is nothing you can connect on (which is unusual), start with a fun icebreaker, like “Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy?” Or “Love dogs or cats?” Remember, the goal is to get from the site to an actual date, so don’t get caught up in overtexting.

A great way to gauge if someone is interested is thinking about a tennis match. One person serves the ball, the other person hits it back, then you hit it back and so on. Good messages have a frequent cadence and a good exchange of information and fun banter. Keep in mind if someone seems fairly unresponsive or answers your thoughtful questions with a “yes” or “no” repetitively, take this as a sign that you should move on. Online dating is a game that moves fast and you want to spend time on people who actually want to meet up versus having a pen pal.

When we feel that we are talking with someone highly desirable, we often overlook obvious red flags because the person is super hot, successful, funny, etc. Always trust your gut. If the person you’re talking with seems too sexual for your liking, negative, angry or controlling, trust your gut and stop communicating with them.

After several good exchanges, the next step is to take it to the phone. Talking on the phone does two things: screens out “crazies” who can’t keep their crazy in the closet for more than 10 minutes and builds connection. It’s way less awkward to meet someone you’ve even briefly chatted with than meeting someone cold. You know what to expect and can even build some chemistry on the call. It shouldn’t be long, anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Even if you’ve got a great connection, don’t spend hours on the phone. You want to leave something to talk about on the date.

One note: just because someone might be shy or not great on the phone, that’s not always a good reason to eliminate them. Often, people feel weird about talking on the phone and will be better in person. One of my clients was talking to a guy for the first time. He was from Spain and quickly said, “I’m much better in person than I am on the phone. Would you be open to meeting me for coffee today?” They are now engaged to be married this year.

Once you’ve chatted and think the person is a good fit, ask for the date. Great first dates are short and sweet — no more than two hours. Getting active is always fun: go for a walk, a hike or a bike ride. Don’t offer or commit to an “epic” first date like a sports game or a concert and dinner, because you’ll potentially be trapped for hours. A great way to set boundaries for the date is to say, “Could we meet for a drink from 6-7:30 p.m.? I’ve got dinner plans at 8 and would love to meet you beforehand.” This gives you a smooth way to exit and, even if the date is going wonderfully, feel free to leave on time — and leave them wanting more!

Dating is a long game that could take months or years for most of us. Finding the right partner is the most important thing you’ll ever do, so staying patient, positive and perseverant are everything in this endeavor. Tell yourself that “love will definitely come to me and I’m in it for as long as it takes,” and strap in for a fun ride.

Happy dating!