It's no secret dating in NYC is notoriously difficult: pop culture classics like Sex and the City and even Friends have seen failed flings (and emotional unavailability) become tropes of the City that Never Sleeps.
For very busy and important New Yawkers living in a New York minute, it seems there's little to no patience for incompatibility: why would they waste their time? There's millions of other fish in the sea, right on their doorstep. There's always another option: someone who will pay an extra $3 to get cheese on their burger.
That was the nail in the coffin for one New York woman, who went viral on TikTok after documenting her very own dating disaster to a decidedly mixed response.
In a video that has amassed more than 8.4 million views and 359,000 likes at the time of publishing, self-proclaimed "NYC babe" Dafna revealed she'd ditched a date mid-dinner after she was grated by his decision to forgo a slice of cheese that cost US$3.
"Guys, I just got back from a Hinge date - why am I doing this to myself?" Dafna began her story, which she appears to have filmed while walking home from the date in question.
"We are sitting at the restaurant, [he] seems very nice, things are going well… he said, 'I'm gonna take the burger'. The waitress asked him, 'Do you want cheese on your burger?' He asked, 'Is that going to be extra?' She said, 'Yes, it's $3 extra'. He said, 'Okay, then nevermind'.
"I'm like, 'What the actual f**k?'... He's like, 'Oh my God, you have to pay extra for everything these days' and I'm like, 'Yeah, it's New York City'.
"Once I was satisfied I got up and [said] I was going to the restroom. I took my purse and I went to the waitress and I was like, 'Hey, I just want to pay the bill'. I just paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant.
"I texted him, 'The check is taken care of, you should've gotten the cheese'. And I blocked him."
In the caption, Dafna said the dinner cost her US$55 (NZ$88) and included the hashtags #datinglife, #storytime, #datinginyour20s and #datinginnyc.
For the record, US$3 is about NZ$4.80 at the time of publishing, which to be fair, is a pretty hefty price for a slice of cheese.
Dafna's reason for ditching the date has proved controversial among viewers, with many taking to the comments to condemn her attitude.
"The problem is people are too quick to judge someone based on one comment. You didn't even give him a chance based on a piece of cheese," one said.
"These are not dating problems in NYC. This is a crazy reaction," a second weighed in, with a third commenting: "Bro WHAT, this is the most insane thing I've ever seen, there's no way you're being serious."
While some questioned the veracity of her story, with several pointing out the price seemed too high for a piece of cheese, others agreed $3 was too steep for a single slice and backed the man for refusing to fork out.
"$3 for a slice of cheese is criminal," one declared, with another adding: "Nah I'm with him, cheese should be included in the price and $3 extra for a 25¢ slice of cheese is criminal."
A day after she shared the clip, Dafna followed up with another video in which she addressed the "unhinged comments" she'd received in response to her story.
"Do you think I don't know that I'm crazy? I'm crazy," she began.
She noted that the vitriol had escalated from disagreeing with her behaviour to "commenting that I'm ugly, that I'm a four [out of 10], that I'm a two, that I don't deserve love".
"Why are you taking a stupid video so seriously? I'm having a laugh about it, the guy is having a laugh about it."
Dafna also claimed she and the man are now talking and planning a second date, despite saying in the first video that she had blocked him.
She continued that even though she is a "broke" student and unpaid intern, she doesn't "bitch about money" when she goes on a date or to a restaurant with friends, adding: "I'm going to enjoy myself and deal with the money later."
In another follow-up video, Dafna hit back at users claiming to be the man in question, alleging her date doesn't use TikTok or other social media.
"He doesn't even know about this stupid story," she said, contradicting her earlier claims.
The inconsistencies appear to have caused viewers to lose interest in Dafna chronicles, with one pointing out: "It'd be more entertaining if you kept the story straight. Two videos ago he apparently knew about this and was laughing with you?"
"I'm starting to believe this is all a social experiment or something, it can't be real at this point," said another.
