'I brought my husband to a date with another woman on TV, here's how it went'
A throuple on First Dates has reflected on making history on the Channel 4 programme.
The reality series has seen plenty of hopefuls come and go through the First Dates restaurant doors, greeted by I'm A Celebrity star and maître d' Fred Sirieix and barman Merlin Griffiths.
But in tonight's programme, launching the new series, one woman was surprised to hear that she was being set up with not one but two people.
Mum-of-three Sophie had never dated a woman before and was hoping to find someone alternative, authentic and open-minded, which her date with Emily certainly was.
The pair hit it off quickly, with Sophie overcoming her nerves to finally reveal to Emily that she was married, and her husband Ricki was sitting at the bar, waiting to join them.
The couple, who have been together for 10 years and wed in 2018, were looking to open up their marriage and find someone to join them.
'We were curious to explore new connections together, and thought, why not? It felt like the right time to do something bold and go for it,' Sophie later told The Mirror in an exclusive interview.
'It was exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time.'
She and Ricki had considered opening their relationship up two years after meeting and once attempted a 'lifestyle club' where they were welcomed with 'open arms,' but now they wanted to take things further.
'We've always been very private, and never really spoken to other people about our relationship and never had the chance to open it up. We've had a couple of experiences with friends but nothing has ever developed from that,' she said.
Two years ago, Sophie told Ricki she was bisexual, and wanted to potentially explore that, which he was open to. Having not found the right person to date, First Dates became their first encounter with another person.
'I was quite nervous walking in, I feel like the idea of having a blind date - especially when you haven't dated for a long time - was very nerve-wracking to me. But as soon as I walked in, I felt really welcomed and those nerves went away fairly quickly,' she recalled.
Ricki, meanwhile, wasn't 'too nervous' but just excited and hopeful after failing to find what they were looking for on dating apps. 'There aren't many dating apps for couples looking for singles,' he said. 'And if there are, it's purely (within our experiences) just for sexual encounters, and that's not what we were looking for.'
Both Sophie and Ricki appeared to instantly connect with Emily, who also shared her 'amazing' experience in an interview.
She said: 'It was an exciting opportunity, and obviously, for me, I didn't know what I was going into in terms of who the date was going to be. I'm very pansexual, I've dated all the genders, all the colours of the rainbow, and I didn't know if it was going to be a guy or a girl, someone in between, or a couple because I definitely expressed that was an interest of mine as well. The way the date played out was amazing.'
Like Ricki, Emily hadn't had success on dating apps and wanted to try First Dates to meet new people.
'I love dating and I love meeting new people, I think meeting new people is the meaning of life to be honest, making new connections, and so I thought what a fun and interesting way to meet some cool people,' she said.
The massage therapist went on: 'I've dated couples before and really enjoyed it in the past, [but] it's quite hard to find the right dynamic. Obviously dating is hard enough just trying to find two people that match, so to find a dynamic where all three people are all compatible is harder sometimes.'
As soon as Emily saw Sophie, she felt 'really happy' and a 'wave of relief,' confessing, 'I had a huge crush on Sophie.'
While Ricki wasn't necessarily her usual type, Emily admitted that within five minutes of meeting him, she could feel his 'warmth and humour'.
She added, 'We all got on really well, and to be honest, energy and personality tend to be the driver of who I end up with.'
Despite not initially being aware that she would be dating both Sophie and Ricki, Emily shared that she wasn't 'shocked' but rather 'nicely surprised.'
'I would have been very happy with just dating Sophie alone, but it was a nice little surprise for me; I wasn't worried at all,' she said.
Emily, Sophie, and Ricki not only found luck with their dates, but they also all shared how proud they are to have been a part of an empowering message on First Dates.
'I feel really honoured that I was part of First Dates' first three-way date because it hasn't been done before and I think it does break down a lot of stigma,' Emily, who has previously appeared on Channel 4's Open House: The Great Sex Experiment, said.
'With Open House, it's all very raunchy and risky and a lot of things go wrong but with First Dates I hope it comes across that for me, it was really amazing, we had a great connection, and actually these things aren't really taboo at all.
'It's just three people who really get along, having a nice time. And I think that people make it a lot deeper than it needs to be, it's really just not that deep.'
Sophie also said: 'I really like the fact that we've had this opportunity to be able to be the first people to do it, it's exciting for us, we love that. Hopefully it does provide an empowering message to other couples that may be wanting to explore those sorts of connections too.'
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