I had a dinner date with a woman who is 52, 14 years older than me. When we messaged and had a phone call, it seemed like we had a lot of common ground despite the age gap, and she also looked younger since she did competitive fitness competitions up until a few years ago. It was a dinner date at a tapas restaurant, so nothing too fancy but nothing too casual either. She wore a fitted black leather coat and black leather boots with jeans and a black shirt, and I wore my leather jacket, a button down, black jeans and shoes, so oddly we complimented each others' fashion.

Upon sitting down for dinner, though, it felt like every question she asked me came with a judgement.

When discussing my weightlifting routine, she asked if I ate the same foods everyday, to which I said mostly to an extent of certain snacks, and having a dinner consisting of a lean protein, greens and clean carb starch, to which she replied, "I need to eat something different everyday and like to try all kinds of foods..." Okay, so I'm getting the feeling she doesn't think I'm an adventurous eater or something all because I meal prep to simplify my life and benefit my workouts...

When discussing any planned trips, she boasted about her recent travels to islands and cruises. She only works part-time since she spent some time in the corporate world, made her money, and now does something less demanding with more time to travel. When she asked if I had any trips planned, I mentioned I had two planned out to the west coast later this year, only to be met by a "Oh, so you're only traveling domestically..." Okay, sure, not like that rooms in Big Sur don't cost $300 a night or anything lol

When we were ordering, she asked what I was drinking, and I said -- which I had already mentioned to her when talking before meeting -- that I wasn't really a drinker, and that I would probably just get a ginger beer, but she was welcome to order whatever, but she changed her mind from a wine to just a tea. I'm pretty sure at this point, she assumed I was worried about the cost of drinks when the reality was that I just wasn't feeling having a drink with dinner.

There were more things along the way. The whole time, it felt like this woman just couldn't let me be me and was looking into everything with a judgmental over-analysis. We had spoken extensively about ourselves prior to meeting, so I was surprised by what felt like a more turned up scrutiny. At the end of the date, I offered to pay, but she insisted on splitting, which was fine by me at that point. Awkward hug on the way out.

The next day, she messages me saying she didn't really feel a connection, and then went on to say "Meeting people off dating apps just isn't for me, but I'm sure it's good for someone like you." When she said that, it really made it known to me that she considered herself as someone who was above dating apps or something, which likely explained a lot from the night previous.