A woman has revealed the unexpected way she met her husband – after ditching her Hinge date to chat up the barman.
Sophie Ellis, from Manchester, was waiting for her Hinge match at her local Flight Club when her date texted to let her know his Uber had been delayed.
Not wanting to look as though she’d been stood up, Sophie headed to the bar where she ordered a double rum and coke, and it was there that she got chatting to James Willis, 26.
The 30-year-old said the pair shared an ‘instant connection’ and when her date eventually arrived 30 minutes later, the two love birds kept ‘catching eyes’ and ‘smirking’ across the bar.
The connection became too intense for Sophie to ignore, and she ended up cutting her date short, explaining that she’d become too ‘distracted’ by James to focus on chatting to her Hinge date, who she’d met twice already.
Since the moment she abandoned her Flight Club date back in 2022, Sophie and James have been inseparable and recently celebrated their wedding in Ibiza.
Taking to TikTok, Sophie shared footage of the pair’s journey captioned ‘waiting for my date that’s 30 minutes late’ which has since gone viral with more than 557,000 views.
In the clip, Sophie is seen sitting impatiently at the bar waiting for her date before the camera switches to the bride and groom laughing together.
Sophie Ellis (pictured), from Manchester, was waiting for her Hinge match at her local Flight Club when her date texted to let her know his Uber had been delayed
Many users took to the comments saying the couple’s encounter in February 2022 was ‘fate’, with one user saying their story is a ‘fairytale’.
The couple got engaged in July 2023 and went on to get married on Saturday 3 May 2025.
Sophie, a tax sales account executive, said: ‘I’m grateful that date happened because I would have never met James. It’s really weird how it worked out.
‘[My date] ended up being 30 minutes late at which time I was sitting at the bar speaking to James. I looked a bit like a loser sitting at the bar on my own.
‘I ordered a double Malibu and coke with him and he was like “you’ve been waiting a while, so thought he was going to stand you up”. I said “no, he’s late” and we started chatting.
‘It was an instant connection. I found him really handsome and really cool. I was relieved I could pass the time and that I actually had a genuine conversation.’
Sophie was so engrossed in her attraction to James that she ‘completely forgot’ she was on another date, and by the time her match arrived, all she could think about was her barman.
Luckily though, before the Hinge date finally appeared, she and James had ‘sneakily’ exchanged Instagram details and shortly after began messaging.
Not wanting to look as though she’d been stood up, Sophie headed to the bar where she ordered a double rum and coke, and it was there that she got chatting to James Willis, 26 (Sophie pictured with her husband, James, after getting engaged)
The 30-year-old said the pair (pictured) shared an ‘instant connection’ and when her date eventually arrived 30 minutes later, the two love birds kept ‘catching eyes’ and ‘smirking’ across the bar
The connection became too intense for Sophie to ignore, and she ended up cutting her date short, explaining that she’d become too ‘distracted’ by James to focus on chatting to her Hinge date, who she’d met twice already
Sophie, a tax sales account executive, said: ‘I’m grateful that date happened because I would have never met James (pictured together). It’s really weird how it worked out’
‘As I was sat with the other guy that was late, me and James across the bar were just catching eyes and smirking and it was a bit awkward because I was just so logged out of this date I was supposed to be on because I wanted to speak to James.
‘The date didn’t last too long. I said ‘let’s go somewhere else’ because I couldn’t concentrate and I didn’t want to be rude. I actually pretended I was ill because I couldn’t focus on this date.’
After meeting James for a drink after her date that same night, the pair have been inseparable and believe it was ‘fate’ that brought them together.
Having been single for three years, Sophie said she is grateful to have met her fiancé ‘organically’ rather than on a dating app.
Sophie said: ‘We always say it’s very serendipitous and fate. James has put a thank you to that guy [in his vows] because if he hadn’t been late we probably wouldn’t have been here.
‘I always say he’s three years younger than me and I don’t think we’d have crossed paths. I didn’t even ask how old he was until the second date.
‘In hindsight I wouldn’t have given him the time of day if it was on a dating app. It’s nice that we met organically because it proves it doesn’t really matter how old someone is.
‘I think in this day and age dating is really difficult, especially to meet people in person. Dating apps are hard work and it’s all quite superficial. Meeting someone organically isn’t really heard of anymore so it’s nice to give people faith.’
The couple (pictured) got engaged in July 2023 and went on to get married on Saturday 3 May
Sophie (pictured with James) now encourages other people to ‘be present’ so they don’t miss out on creating meaningful connections
Luckily, before the Hinge date finally appeared, she and James had ‘sneakily’ exchanged Instagram details and shortly after began messaging
Sophie has shared her love story on TikTok (pictured in a clip)
Many users took to the comments saying the couple’s encounter in February 2022 was ‘fate’, with one user saying their story is a ‘fairytale’.
She now encourages other people to ‘be present’ so they don’t miss out on creating meaningful connections.
Sophie said: ‘Be present of what’s around you. I do it all the time, I’m on my phone constantly.
‘If someone does start speaking to you, you instantly think that they’re a bit weird because people don’t do it anymore.
‘Just be more open to conversation. Not everyone is weird and some people are just genuinely nice and you could meet someone behind the counter at Waterstones or whatever it could be.’
