A singleton used dating apps to find a man to help her with DIY - and repaid her date by making him dinner. <br /><br />Clare Rea, 31, was attracted to the handyman she spotted on Hinge for more than his good looks and charm. <br /><br />She went on two dates with him before mentioning she was struggling to build a coffee table - hoping he'd offer his services. <br /><br />Knowing it was a 13-step job, she was delighted when he said he'd help put it together for her and spent three-and-a-half hours building it. <br /><br />After realising just how long the job was taking, Clare decided to cook him dinner and the pair cuddled up on the sofa afterwards - but their relationship didn't go any further.<br /><br />Clare, a plus-sized model, from New York City, US, said: “It was really important for me to bring fun back into dating - and if that looks like recruiting a man to set up your table, so be it!<br /><br />"To be honest, it was actually his idea - he went into it very confident, I think because he wanted to be Mr. Man. <br /><br />“He was a part-time handyman, and told me he’d been taking night classes in woodwork - it felt like it was meant to be. <br /><br />“I cooked dinner and he built the table - but I did start to feel bad after three hours.” <br /><br />Clare had been using Hinge on-and-off since it first launched in February 2013. <br /><br />Her success rate wasn’t very high and reached a point where she didn’t want to look for anything long-term. <br /><br />She claims singletons use dating apps for all sort of things these days - including finding someone to help with your DIY - and it’s all about having fun. <br /><br />After meeting the 31-year-old tradesman in February 2024, she decided she wanted to go on a couple more dates with him. <br /><br />“I certainly didn’t go into a conversation with this guy with the intention of him building me a table,” she added. <br /><br />“We didn’t actually know each other very well.<br /><br />“It was a third date and he came to pick me up before taking me for drinks.<br /><br />“I want to put a disclaimer out there that I would not share my address with anyone on a first date.”<br /><br />The pair had been making small-talk while he was waiting for Clare to get ready. <br /><br />He spotted a big box in her entryway - and asked her what it was for. <br /><br />She said: “I told him I needed to build this table - to be honest, it’d been sitting in my entryway for about four months. <br /><br />“He saw it there when he was picking me up and he was like ‘what is that?’ <br /><br />“I think he thought he was going to come in and be the hero.”<br /><br />Clare says the accordion-style sliding table had “many” components to it - which her date didn’t realise. <br /><br />Clare says he had no idea just how “involved” the process was going to be - and she even ended up having to finish the table herself. <br /><br />“He really didn’t grasp the full scope of the task,” she said. <br /><br />“It was three-and-a-half hours long.<br /><br />“It ended up being a 13-step project - but he’s a handyman so he went into this very confidently. <br /><br />“I mean, it’s what he does.”<br /><br />Clare's Hinge date came to pick her up at 9.30pm - and left at 1am when the task was complete
