93-Year-Old Grandma Says Not To Pay On A First Date 'If You Have To Listen To A Man Talk About Himself'
The debate over who should pay the bill on a date rages on.
TikTok A 93-year-old grandma went on her first date in 25 years with a man she met at bingo, and she had words of advice for anyone playing the dating game.
Lillian Droniak has 8.8 million TikTok followers. Her bio states, “Hello, I’m a celebrity and a 93-year-old grandma.”
She posts videos of her day-to-day life, which includes sewing, reading, planning her funeral, texting her exes who are still alive, and generally being vivacious. Before Droniak went on her first date for the first time in decades, she posted a "Get Ready With Me" (GRWM) video, in which she brushes her hair, puts on lipstick, and dresses in a snazzy outfit.
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Grandma Droniak offered relationship advice to her followers, telling them to ‘never bring your wallet on a first date.’
The famous grandma made a video of herself dancing after coming home from her date, saying, “I’ve been doing this since 1956.”
“You deserve a free dinner if you have to listen to a man talk about himself,” she explained. Droniak’s followers loved what she had to say.
“Slay, granny,” said one person. Another person showed their deep appreciation for Grandma Droniak’s TikTok presence, noting that she is “bridging generational gaps [and] breaking generational curses” with her posts.
“I have officially raised my standards,” commented someone else, who’s apparently on board with Droniak’s dating technique. Yet a different follower wrote, “Sometimes it’s best to pay for yourself so you can leave and not hear the man talk anymore.”
Part of being a good date is knowing when to share and when to listen, and not dominating the entire conversation, at the risk of coming off as narcissistic or self-involved. A successful date allows for both people to feel seen and heard, and to revel in the joy of getting to know someone new.
There's ongoing debate surrounding who should pay for a date — the man or the woman.
The question of whether a man should pay for a first date is a hotly contested one. While many people believe that men should pay, some think that women should offer to do so, as it showcases their financial independence and consideration for their date.
The traditional social mores state that men should pay when they take women out on a date, yet this belief is heteronormative and overlooks the existence of queer couples and gender-nonconforming people.
While it might seem out-of-the-ordinary for someone as old as Droniak to date, the lived experience of the elderly population proves otherwise.
The National Institute of Medicine featured a research paper by authors Susan L. Brown and Sayaka K. Shinohara, titled, “Dating Relationships in Older Adulthood: A National Portrait.” The 2013 study sampled data from 3,005 people between the ages of 57 and 85, finding that “among older unmarried individuals, the population eligible to date, 14% were in a dating relationship.”
As far as Droniak’s night out went, she declared the date “no good.”
“He didn’t even look at my outfit and say it looks pretty,” she complained. “He was rude to the waiter, he was just a rude person. He didn’t even hold the door for me, like a gentleman should.”
It seems unlikely that Droniak’s suitor will get a second date, as she said, “Bottom line, he wasn’t a gentleman. Not my type. And I did not give him a kiss. No way.”
“Only date a gentleman,” she advised her followers.
As Droniak closes in on 100 years old, it isn’t entirely surprising that she expected her date to pay for dinner. While she’s surely a modern woman, some social beliefs are deeply ingrained in our psyches, and not paying on dates might be one of them.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.