First Date Etiquette: Who Pays, Doors, Ordering & Exes

Ahead of Valentine's Day, Agnes and Ryan go through a viral list of minimum first-date expectations for men, including who pays the bill, opening doors, letting her order first, walking her to her car, and not talking about your ex. They debate the tone of the list versus its substance, with Agnes agreeing with most of it from a woman's view and Ryan objecting to the attitude. Agnes also mentions a recent podcast interview about her memoir Seven Rings, One Love.

Takeaways

• On a first date, the person who invited covers the bill or picks a place they can afford, such as coffee or an appetizer.
• Small courtesies like opening doors, letting your date order for herself, and walking her to her car show respect.
• Don't use a first date to talk about your exes or their faults; keep answers polite and brief unless the person asks.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Agnes's memoir
• 2:10 Agnes's podcast interview about her book
• 5:18 A viral list of first-date rules
• 7:24 Rule: pay the bill
• 14:40 Rule: open the doors
• 17:57 The sidewalk rule
• 21:02 Rule: let her order first
• 23:41 Rule: seating in a booth
• 25:14 Rule: walk her to her car or door
• 29:58 Rule: don't talk about your ex
• 37:16 Extra etiquette: revolving doors, stairs, phones
• 39:58 Wrap-up

Conversation and opinion, not medical, legal, tax or financial advice.