Meet Grace, Our Solo Connects 25-35’s Host!
Meet Grace, Our Solo Connects 25-35’s Host!
Hey I’m Grace 👋 and I’m the Under 35’s Host here at Solo Connects MK, I’m an MK girlie through and through. I’ve been single for coming up to two years (at time of writing), and my dating journey is quite an interesting one… I am so proud to be supporting Solo Connects to bring the in person dating scene here to modern day Milton Keynes!
Back in early 2024 I walked away from my first long term relationship, after taking a few months for a period of self-reflection and personal growth, I decided to delve back into the world of dating again. Like a typical Gen Z I went down the apps route, Bumble and Hinge. 🤳
I quickly realised in the weeks that followed just how much I dislike online dating, not the people on it (for the most part – you got the one weirdo every now and then 😬) but more so in the overwhelming nature of how they operated. I felt like my profile never had any accuracy of showing who I really was as a person no matter how many times I changed it. I even had premium for a while in hopes I would be able to refine my crowd so it was less intense but £70 later, I still didn’t see a great difference. I’d delete and then redownload them. Don’t get me wrong, I did get dates and some short term relationships with some great people from the apps, but I never felt like my profile gave a true reflection, especially paired with awkward small talk messages.
After a couple months of this, I stepped away from online dating with the vision to try in person speed dating, yes it was old fashioned but at least I’d be able to find someone who pluck up the confidence and was willing to put their genuine selves forward. I did a couple of these types of events, and again, whilst I met some lovely people, I mostly felt let down. Not by the people who went, but by the staff…
One of the events was located in a local bar function room upstairs, I headed to the downstairs bar to get a drink, that’s when I hear murmuring. Turns out the bar staff (including the MANAGER) we’re all judging the appearances of the people who walked in the door and went upstairs for the dating event, the sheer audacity and disgusting attitude made my blood boil. I made it very clear to all 3 of them I was attending the event and that I’d heard them, the manager sheepishly gave me my drink and scuttled off, I wish I’d reported this behavior at the time…
The next event wasn’t much better, I’d booked it last minute on a whim in the hope that I’d have a more pleasant experience than the first event. Oh how wrong I was… Turns out a lot of people like to ignore the age restrictions at dating events, this event was for 20 – 30 something year olds. But I got paired with a FOURTY TWO YEAR OLD. 🫢
Yes, you read that right. ( I completely understand there are some women who like older men, but I am not one of them) and the fact the host KNEW this was appalling, Apparently he’d been to these events a number of times before, it became clear to me the host didn’t really care about how uncomfortable we felt, just the ticket commission they made…
I left that event feeling so disheartened, thank goodness the third event saved the day before I gave up hope on dating (seriously).
This event was in London and was a little different from the other types of events. It was a large open bar, everyone was single and happy to mingle, it was like how it used to be in our parents days - minus the second guessing if the person actually WAS single.🍸 It was essentially a more modern take on the classic style of dating, I left the event feeling much more confident, then the annoying realisation hit on the train home that these types of events only really existed in large cities, and not in my home town of Milton Keynes so the chances of building a relationship with someone there was slim to none… 😔
In comes Rachel and Sam from Solo Connects 💖 - I’d heard of Solo Connects before, but hadn’t used them, after the past 2 local dating experiences I had I didn’t feel confident in the local dating services we had here. I told them about this, how good the event in London was and how I wanted to bring that scene here to MK. I’d just landed back from holiday in beautiful Madeira and the three of us went out for a pub lunch, before I knew it, Solo Connects Under 35’s Events WAS BORN! 🥳
Dedicated events for those aged Under 35, ID checks on the door so no one could lie about their age, a rooftop trendy bar space, fun and friendly bar staff, all complete with a fabulous and confident host of the night – ME! And we all know I love hosting events and public speaking, it’s my passion! 🎤
When we launched the event and published it on my social media for the first time, I was travelling with a friend for a beach day trip, I remember feeling so nervous about it, would anyone actually come? Would I be judged and mocked online? Our target ticket sales were just 25 people, and I was doubtful we’d hit that…
Oh how wrong I was… this time – in a good way! 🥳
73, YES 73! Wonderful guests bought tickets and turned up on the night, I checked each and everyone of them in and was welcomed to warm smiles from genuine people looking to meet and mingle, throughout the night we played games like giant Jenga and Connect 4, and then I channelled my inner Ant and Dec with hosting rounds of two truths and a lie. 🎤
I had a proper laugh and a wave of relief that FINALLY, something was going right in my dating world – I just had to make it happen! With the assistance of the two truly wonderful ladies that are Sam and Rachel of Solo Connects, I am so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity!
So many people on the night were telling me just how much MK NEEDED an event like this, that they had so much fun and wanted to know when the next event was. If you’d like to stay in the loop on all of my shenanigans with the Under 35s world here at Solo Connects then CLICK HERE to sign up for email updates.
💖 If Under 35s Events aren’t for you then don’t worry! We’ve got loads of events for all ages here in Milton Keynes, Bedford, Northampton & Aylesbury. CLICK HERE for all the details!
Connect with Solo Connects UK and Grace Spicer
Solo Connects UK
Grace Spicer
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