Summer reissue: Alie Benge signed up to a dating app with a sense of dread. What she found restored her faith in people – and in love itself, she writes, in the first instalment of a new series following her dating journey. First published August 29, 2020. I went into the first lockdown a hardcore … Read more
In the final instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge ponders a world that isn’t afraid of love. I’m obsessed with love. All forms are fascinating. Familial love, aromantic love, queer love, desire, friendship. But my interest has come from a position of anthropological curiosity. In my own life, I’ve … Read more
In the latest instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge makes a real connection – and wonders why she can’t shake the need for romantic love. A friend told me I seem happy again. “It’s nice to have happy Alie back,” he said. “It’s been a while.” It made me … Read more
In the latest instalment of her series chronicling the ins and outs of dating in 2020, Alie Benge details the unique challenges of dating while Christian. I’m part of a rare Christian archetype: the unmarried 30-year-old. You’ll see us prowling the edges of a congregation, hook noses and one blind eye, looking for an opportune … Read more
In the latest in our series chronicling the ins and outs of dating in 2020, Alie Benge explains her reliance on the ‘friend committee’ to judge the suitability of every love interest. Abby came to my desk in a panic. She was meeting Sia that weekend. For the first time, she’d be going on a … Read more
In the second of our series on Alie Benge’s dating journey, she ponders if that intangible, unpredictable thing that is spark is really as crucial as she’d always believed it to be. I usually leave dates feeling buzzed from the interaction, regardless of how well it went. A few weeks ago, for the first time, … Read more
Alie Benge signed up to a dating app with a sense of dread. What she found restored her faith in people – and in love itself, she writes, in the first instalment of a new series following her dating journey. I went into the first lockdown a hardcore introvert, one of those annoying people talking … Read more