Up close and personals: Tim Wayne-Wright
Ibroke up with my girlfriend of five years in August 2009. I'm a singer, and away a lot with work and she, it transpires, was unhappy so cheated on me – she was seeing someone else for a few months behind my back. I found out through Facebook, confronted her, and we ended our relationship. It was a pretty messy ending – we'd just bought a flat together in London – and there was a lot to sort out. I was sad that she felt she couldn't come to me and say she was unhappy.
It sounds terrible, but it didn't take me long to start dating again. My father had passed away a few months before the break-up, so I guess I saw the end of my relationship as not such a big deal in the grand scheme of life. My best friend, Miguel, was single too, so we decided to give online dating a go. I was excited about being single and free to meet other women again.
I've been on quite a few dates. Because I'm away so much for work, I try and cram in as many as I can when I'm home. Some have been great, but I've had a couple of disasters, too. I think the first date I went on had to be the worst. She seemed brilliant on her profile: pretty, articulate and really sweet. We met up in east London, and she was perhaps the dullest person I have ever met. She had absolutely nothing to say. And the other thing that annoyed me was that she didn't offer to pay for anything – not that I would have let her but it was the principle. We had no similar interests, she didn't like music and was the complete antithesis of me. She had no ambition, no drive, and we spent the evening making stilted conversation.
Not long after, I met an absolutely lovely girl and we dated for four or five months. I guess I gave the impression I was ready for a long-term relationship, which at that stage I wasn't. It was entirely my fault, I got ahead of myself. In hindsight, lavish gestures like booking fancy hotel rooms and flying her to the south of France would give most people the impression I wanted to get serious. It was stupidity on my part, as I'd only been single for a couple of months and really wasn't ready. We were at different places in our lives and it came to an end as I wasn't prepared to commit and she was ready for a steady relationship.
I turn 28 soon. I'd hope that the next girl I'm in a serious relationship with will be The One. I'm dating a lovely girl from New Zealand at the moment, so we'll see what happens. I don't want to waste time in a relationship that I know isn't going to work, so I'm happy dating until then.
If you would like to contact Tim, go to mysinglefriend.com. To appear in this column, email upcloseandpersonals@observer.co.uk