Marcus In The Morning Second Date Update

Elise Told Trevor ‘Let’s Do This Again’… Then Ghosted

6 min
Apr 10, 20269 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Trevor and Elise met online for a first date at a restaurant in Walnut Creek where they had great chemistry and conversation for two hours. When the check arrived, Trevor suggested splitting it despite Elise ordering only an appetizer and water while he had multiple courses and cocktails, which became a dealbreaker for her and led to ghosting.

Insights
  • Silent expectation-setting in dating can create misunderstandings; unspoken tests punish partners for not reading minds rather than communicating needs directly
  • First-date bill-splitting etiquette remains a contentious issue with gendered expectations that vary significantly between individuals
  • Online dating introduces additional pressure and self-protection mechanisms that can override positive in-person chemistry
  • Conflict avoidance in early dating stages can mask fundamental incompatibilities until they surface publicly
  • Attention to detail and situational awareness are valued dating qualities, but their absence shouldn't be judged without explicit communication
Trends
Online dating ghosting as conflict avoidance rather than direct communicationImplicit testing behaviors in early dating to filter for perceived compatibility markersGender dynamics in bill-splitting expectations on first dates from online matchesSelf-protection strategies in online dating creating barriers to authentic connectionExpectation misalignment between online dating profiles and in-person interactions
People
Marcus
Host of Marcus In The Morning who facilitates the second date update segment and calls both parties
Trevor
First date participant who was ghosted after suggesting to split the bill on first date
Elise
First date participant who ghosted Trevor after he suggested splitting the bill despite her ordering less
Quotes
"I always order light on the first date. This is like on purpose because it's my way of checking self-awareness. Like I have to protect myself online dating is rough."
EliseMid-episode
"What you're describing in my eyes at least is literally a test. And I don't even think that's fair since you didn't even say anything."
TrevorMid-episode
"Just be an adult and use your words and communicate."
TrevorLate-episode
"I didn't want to have to say anything. I was hoping you'd be able to read the situation and figure it out to address it."
EliseMid-episode
Full Transcript
It's Marcus in the morning and we've got second date update. It's that time brought to you by flavors of the peninsula going on April 23rd through May 2nd. Perfect for a first date or a date night or a solo date. Curated menu, special pricing, make your reservation at the San Francisco peninsula dot com. Let's get Trevor on the phone. Trevor, you there. Hey Marcus. Yeah, I'm here. Hey man. Good morning. Let's talk about your date because I know. So what we're going to do is we're going to try to get her on the phone. I understand she's ghosted. Let's try to figure some things out, but roll it out for me. So you, you met at least online and then what did you guys do? We decided to meet up for the first time, just got some dinner in Walnut Creek. Okay. Everything felt great. You know, we conversed really well. There were a lot of jokes, lots of laughing and nothing felt like wrong. Everything felt natural. Nothing forced kind of a thing. What'd you guys talk about? A bunch of stuff really talked about our work, travel. I mean, we were talking for a while, like nearly, like we were there nearly two hours. I'm waiting for that one person to say to me, oh, you know, politics, religion, the huge. Nothing too divisive. The first thing, you know, mostly, mostly about our exes. No, it was all natural stuff. Yeah, sure. Okay. It was a good time. Yeah. Nothing inappropriate. I mean, it ended well. Like I said, it was like two hours. It ended with a, we should definitely do this again sometime soon. Yeah. We hugged, you know, I tried to reach out the next day even and I haven't heard anything from her in a while now. How many times have you reached out? Like, like a couple? A couple. Like I would, I would give it some space, you know, I reached out the next day and then gave it another day to text again. Okay. I think it's been like three or four times at this point. And well, let me call us around that options. So we're going to call Elise and figure out why she ghosted. Go ahead and mute your phone so you can listen in. Here we go. Hello. Hi, is this Elise? This is. Hi, Elise. It's Marcus calling from star one on one three. How are you? Oh my gosh. Hi. Hey. Surprise. Hey girl. Surprise. Uh, we're doing, we're doing second date update right now. Do you, do you listen to the show? Yeah. Yeah. I love this show. It's a great. Great. Um, never thought I'd be on it though. Right. Here we are. Should I bring Trevor on now or later? I mean, oh right. Trevor. Trevor, are you there? Yep. Still here Marcus. Okay. Good. I figured since she listens every morning, we might as well, you know, so Trevor's feeling ghosted. Doug, you a lot. We were pretty convinced. We listen to me. He was pretty convinced you're going to get a second date. Um, and I'm wondering if you ghosted and if so, did he do something wrong? Well, the actual date was great. Okay. I liked Trevor. I do. Um, he's right. That you can talk to him directly. It's fine. I'll be right here. Oh God. This is awkward. I'm sorry. Okay. So Trevor, you're a great guy. You're really funny. You're really easy to talk to. There weren't any red flags until the very end when the check came. Um, the server had asked how we want to handle it and you immediately said, let's split it. And you know, normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but this is the first date we met online. Um, you know, I had only ordered an appetizer and water, whereas you had a lot more food and like cocktails and desserts. And I just was wondering if you might catch on to the fact that you had so much more and you're asking me to split the bill, which is like paying for all of your stuff. Um, did you say anything like in the moment? No, I didn't because for the same reason I, I haven't responded. Like I didn't want to make a scene. I wanted to keep the vibe normal. I mean, I really did have fun, but, uh, you know, but internally it just changed everything for me. Okay. Here's the thing. I always order light on the first date. This is like on purpose because it's my way of checking self-awareness. Like I have to protect myself online dating is rough. You know, it's not about money. It's just, I want to see if the guy notices the imbalance without being told. Wait, I'm lost. What notices the imbalance like, like a test. So like, is that what this was? If it's not a test, it's like a filter. It's like something I have to do to weed out the guys who don't pay attention. Like paying attention is really important to me. What you're describing in my eyes at least is literally a test. And I don't even think that's fair since you didn't even say anything. It's, it's not fair to me that I didn't know I was taking this test. If you don't communicate it. I didn't want to have to say anything. I was hoping you'd be able to read the situation and figure it out to address it. Just be an adult and use your words and communicate. Look, I am trying to be an adult here. I tried to not make a scene and keep everything normal. And I just know what I want. And it's not someone like you who can't read what the room. This is not a game. It certainly seems like a game. What you're describing is a game that you're trying to play with me and who knows how many other guys you're playing with. OK, you know what? I didn't realize this was a situation. Look, I'm just trying to find a guy. One thing we've been getting and I expect the same. This is devolving. Yeah, OK, at least we haven't even gotten to the fact that you ghosted me. But clearly you're too high maintenance for me, so I'm out. Oh, you're clearly it's not a match. OK, then why are we here? Hang on, you guys, hang on. Wow. All right. Second date update.