ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – When Jill Jesse Futrell, 35, was single and using online dating sites to meet potential mates, she came across a few Pinocchios in her day.
“A million years ago, when I did online dating, this guy said he was like 5 feet 10 inches or so,” said the now married mother of two. “He clearly was not when I towered over him while wearing flip-flops.”
Mark Twain once said, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
Sure, there is virtue in honesty. But when it comes to dating, all is fair in love and war, right?
On a resume, a lie is how most people get their foot in the door. On an online dating profile, stretching the truth is how some secure the first date.
In fact, lying on an online dating profile is rampant.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cornell University found 80 percent of online daters lie about their height, weight or age.
Monique C. Rowan, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been dating online for more than a year.
“One guy told me he lived alone, but it
turned out he lived with his mother.”
“I’ve had guys put on their profile that they had no children, when in reality they had multiple,” said the human resources professional.
“A few guys have put up good-looking pictures of themselves and when I went to meet them in person, I didn’t recognize them because they looked nothing like the picture.”
According to Woman’s Day magazine, the 10 most common things people lie about in their online dating profiles include height (guys fib significantly more), weight, physique, age, income, job type and title, lifestyle, hobbies and interests, connections to celebrities and photographs.
For Rowan, the ultimate lie is one she can laugh about now.
“Oh and one guy told me he lived alone in his own house, but it turned out he lived with his mother,” she said.
Whether it’s telling a little white lie on an online dating profile or being a full-blown Pinocchio, lies seem to have a way of rising to the surface. Just ask the guys Futrell and Rowan caught.
Have you ever lied on your online dating profile, or has a date ever lied on their profile? If so, how did you handle it?
