I Downloaded a Fitness Dating App as a Joke and Now We're Moving In Together

This is so embarrassing to admit but I think it's important to be honest about how love actually finds you, which is usually when you're being an absolute clown about it.

So last June my friend group is at brunch. We're all single. We're all complaining about dating apps. The usual. Someone mentions that there are actually dating apps specifically for people who are into fitness — like DateFit — and we all laugh because that sounds SO niche and SO specific and WHO would filter for someone based on whether they lift???

Reader. I would. I am that person. I just didn't know it yet.

We all download it as a bit. Like, "haha let's see what the gym bros are up to." We're filling out profiles between mimosas. We're laughing at the concept of listing your max bench press on a dating profile. We're being, frankly, a little judgmental.

And then I match with someone.

Their profile was funny. Not try-hard funny, genuinely funny. They said their love language was spotting and their red flag was not reracking weights. I laughed out loud. I actually snorted into my mimosa.

We started talking. They were smart. They were kind. They asked good questions. They remembered things I said. They suggested a first date at a rock climbing gym because "if we're both going to be nervous we might as well have somewhere to put that energy."

It was the best first date I've ever been on.

I'm not going to give you the whole timeline because this isn't a rom-com recap, but here's the highlight reel: rock climbing date → smoothie dates → actual dinner dates → meeting friends → meeting families → adopting a cat named Protein → and now, eight months later, packing boxes because we're moving in together.

BECAUSE OF A BRUNCH DARE.

The thing I didn't expect was how much having fitness in common actually matters in a relationship. We meal prep together on Sundays. We have gym dates that are genuinely the best part of my week. When one of us is having a bad body image day, the other one gets it — really gets it — because they've been there too.

I used to think "fitness dating" sounded shallow. Like you're just looking for someone hot. But it's not about that at all. It's about shared lifestyle, shared values, shared understanding of why you get up at 5 AM to suffer voluntarily.

For anyone curious about whether fitness-focused dating apps actually work: this honest breakdown covers the landscape pretty well.

To my brunch friends who made fun of me: I'm registered at Target. The cat needs a new bed.

To whoever's reading this and thinking "should I try it?": just try it. The worst that happens is you have a funny story. The best that happens is... well. You start packing boxes.