A SINGLETON got matching tattoos with a bloke on their first Hinge date – only for him to GHOST her for ‘coming on too strong’ when she took a plane for a second date.
Cora Hayes was backpacking across Europe when she matched with Jack online and they met up in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the duo opting to get the ‘exact same’ lemon tattoo within 24 hours of meeting.
The pair had an ‘instant connection’ and decided to meet again after the 22-year-old completed her trip down to England.
However, after planning a romantic getaway and forking out £140 to fly from Birmingham back to Edinburgh, the retail assistant was left in a ‘panic’ when she was ‘ghosted’ just two days before the flight.
Despite not knowing anyone else in Scotland, Cora decided to fly back on 20 June anyway and heard ‘absolutely nothing’ from Jack, who later blamed her for ‘coming on too strong’.
The 22-year-old managed to make the best out of an ‘awful’ situation by befriending two girls in her hostel who she convinced to get the same lemon tattoo to ‘change the story’.
Taking to TikTok, Cora shared a clip explaining the situation captioned ‘I cannot believe this happened’, before showing the lemon tattoo and putting her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
Another clip shows the solo traveller standing in an Edinburgh hostel captioned ‘currently in a hostel 17,000 kilometres away from home with nothing but the clothes on my back and this bag. Still vibing though’.
The retail assistant, who is from Melbourne, Australia, was disappointed that her four-day whirlwind romance with Jack came to an abrupt end as they had planned to visit the Scottish Highlands together.
While Jack blamed ‘family issues’ on cancelling their plans and ghosting her, Cora believes he was making it up as he later admitted she had ‘come on too strong’.
However she believes spending four days in Scotland again without him and meeting new people was ’empowering’ and says Jack will never forget her now because of the tattoo.
Cora said: “We had an instant connection. I got along well with him and we hit it off. When I got to Birmingham I thought it could be something.
“We started talking about tattoos at the bar and one of his friends was joking and saying that Jack would never get one but he said he would. I said I’d get one too and it became a joke of the night that we’d get one the next day.
“The next day came round and we went to a tattoo parlour and got matching tattoos of a little lemon. There was no reason but we both agreed on the lemon and got the exact same tattoo at the same time together.
“I messaged him saying I had some spare time while travelling and that I could come back. He said ‘yeah, come back. I’d love to see you again’.
“We spent the next few days planning what we were going to do. We were going to drive up to the Highlands in Scotland. We both agreed that I’d come back.
“I booked flights and during this whole thing we were in constant communication. I sent him my flight details and made sure the days worked and everything. Throughout that whole time we were still messaging and things were going well.”
However, the singleton claims Jack cancelled their plans just two days before her flight, blaming it on ‘family issues’ before ‘ghosting’ her completely and leaving Cora in a ‘panic’ with no accommodation booked.
Cora said: “It got to two days before I fly out and his messages started getting less frequent just randomly. No issue had happened. I sort of had an inkling.
“Then I got a message saying ‘hey, I’m really sorry, family things have come up, I can’t do this weekend. I hope you get home safe’. He knew I wasn’t going back to Australia for a month but he didn’t try to move the dates.
“I believe he made it up because he later apologised and said he felt I came on too strong and he didn’t want to get hurt because I live in Australia. Who would make up a lie instead of just being honest?
“This was our first and last contact after the ghosting, which started the 19th of June, the day before I flew and continued the whole time I was in Edinburgh.
“I was in real panic mode. I didn’t know what to do and if I should go back there and just not see him.”
The 22-year-old decided to fly to Edinburgh anyway and shared a hostel room with two girls for four nights, who also got matching lemon tattoos with her.
However she heard nothing from Jack – despite him apparently still looking at her social media stories showing off that she was in Scotland again.
Cora said: “My friend suggested I go back to Edinburgh because there was so much more to see and just not see or talk to him.
“I booked a hostel to stay there for four nights. I heard absolutely nothing from him. I was posting Instagram stories in Edinburgh and he was viewing them. I heard absolutely nothing.
“No matter how you feel about the situation, ghosting is not an excuse. That’s the part I can’t wrap my head around. Just tell me it’s not going to work out.
“To leave someone in the dark like that is beyond crazy to me. I don’t know how you can do that. I think it’s awful – while they’re in your home town.
“There is a positive outcome. I did end up meeting two girls in my hostel from Australia as well and told them the reason why I was back.
“The next day they ended up getting the same lemon tattoos as me. So now I can change the story. It was a very sweet ending.
“It’s very empowering. It’s kind of like a f**k you. For him, the tattoo’s still the same story but for me it’s changed to a story of friendship and girlhood. He’s never going to forget me.”
The solo traveller admitted that she still ‘loved Edinburgh despite that one situation’ and urges others to ‘know their worth’ if they are ever similarly ghosted.
Cora said: “He’s shown his true colours. He’s the type of person that ghosts you after paying money to go see him on his request.
“I definitely loved Edinburgh despite that one situation. When I went back, I did still use Hinge to meet other people. Everyone else I met there was so lovely.
“I was blaming myself and thought I wasn’t good enough. I was self-blaming. But the way someone treats you is a reflection of themselves and not you. You just have to know your worth.
“Just remember you’re a good person and that you’re loved. There’s so many other people out there. There’s a lot of love out there even if it’s not romantic love.”
