Dispatches from a first date
Real members write up the first date they just had — what they ordered, what they said, what they wish they'd done differently. Anonymized, edited, published.
12 entries
Monthly
Magazine
Long-form notes on dating, well.
Essays, interviews, city guides, and field reports from the team building LoverSpot — and from the people who use it. Published twice a week. Read in any order.
City guidesField reportsDating scienceInterviewsEssaysFirst-personDesign notesSafety
Why we publish
We don't write to rank for keywords.
Most dating content online is SEO bait. "10 things to text after the first date" — written by nobody, useful to nobody. We write the opposite. Slow pieces. Specific cities. Real interviews. The first essay in this magazine took six weeks. The next one's taking longer. If something isn't worth six weeks of someone's attention, we don't publish it.
"Magazine is the part of the product that doesn't sell anything. It's the part where we earn the right to be opinionated about dating by, occasionally, being good at writing."
— Sofia Ahmed, Head of Editorial
Latest
May 28, 2026 · 5 min read
The art of conversation: what to say after the match
The first message decides if there's a second. Here's how to write it.
May 20, 2026 · 6 min read
Authenticity is the only real flex
Your most attractive trait is being recognizably yourself. Show it.
May 12, 2026 · 8 min read
The 6 first-date mistakes everyone keeps making
All preventable. None forgivable after this article.
May 5, 2026 · 4 min read
How to avoid awkward silences (without filling them)
The best move is often saying nothing at all. Here's why.
April 28, 2026 · 5 min read
Handle pre-date nerves like someone who actually likes this
Nerves before a date aren't a bug — they're a feature.
Ongoing series
Three threads, always running.
The city after midnight
Where the second date happens after the first one's gone well. Twelve cities. Local editors. The places they actually take their friends.
9 cities
Rolling
Off the apps
Interviews with couples who met before LoverSpot existed. Same question every time: would you do it differently if you were starting now?
5 interviews
Quarterly
Contributing editors
Real bylines. Real people.
Sofia Ahmed
Head of Editorial
· London
Previously at Monocle and Eater. Edits the city guides series. Once spent four hours interviewing a sommelier about second-date wines.
Yann Berthier
Senior Editor
· Paris
Five years at Le Monde Magazine before joining. Writes the long-form interviews and runs the "Off the apps" series.
Aïcha Bensaid
Editor, MENA
· Casablanca
Casablanca-born, formerly at Telquel. Edits the Arabic and French regional editions. Knows every café in the old city.
Diego Méndez
Editor, Latin America
· Mexico City
Joined from Gatopardo. Covers Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá. Writes "The city after midnight" entries from each.
Notes from the road
Notes from the road.
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