Since it premiered in 2016, the program First Dates has given rise to all types of relationships, encounters and bonds, whether successful or frustrated. Carlos Sobera and his team have monitored many meetings in his restaurant in Madrid, despite coming from all corners of Spain. This gives rise to meeting people with very full, even cramped, lives. So crowded that they represent more than a problem when it comes to leading a relatively active social life.
This has been the case of Sara, a 35-year-old betting room employee who lives in Aranjuez, in the Community of Madrid. Her young dream was to become a flamenco dancer. Not in vain is she a multidisciplinary and always active artist, but an accident prevented her from dedicating herself completely to it. On this occasion, she visited First Dates to meet Pablo, a 41-year-old consultant living in Madrid, who would have a major surprise with her work life.
The first impression, both at the bar meeting and at the table, was positive. One of the dreams that the suitor wanted to fulfill was to start a family, but to do so they had to reconcile both lives, even if it was gradual. And in that sense, Sara's multiple jobs and schedules complicated things. Right off the bat, the aspiring dancer works in two very active places, the betting parlor and a pub.
As for the first role, Sara occupies three days in the morning, three in the afternoon and three days off. Likewise, her weekends are spent working at night in the pub, specifically Friday and Saturday. It was here that she raised the first alarm and the suitor's problems in reconciling her schedule with a relative social life. “There are times when I leave the games room at one in the morning and I get hooked on the pub,” she confessed.
It seemed like a first obstacle for the relationship between the two, but it soon became clear that Sara wanted to abandon “the night” to be able to work in a more conciliatory way with socialization and the schedules of certain commercial activities. “It burns me, and I don't think I'll be around much longer,” she assured herself. At the end of the date, Pablo was willing to go on a second date, but she declined because she didn't feel “anything special” at first sight.
This episode of First Dates also left the striking story of María, a 64-year-old all-terrain woman from Baiona, in the province of Pontevedra. As she herself explained to Carlos Sobera, she had been divorced for 40 years and spent another 32 with a man who, in reality, was engaged. "Out of sight, out of mind. And when you are in love, because you don't see it, it's another thing if you saw it, then turn it off and let's go because she would consent to that," she expressed.
