Young people seem to have fallen out of love with dating apps ― 90% of Gen Z feel “frustrated” by them, youth research company Savanta found. 

They’re not alone. A YouGov survey found that almost half (46%) of Brits say their experiences have been bad; nearly two-thirds of us (59%) didn’t like the people they were shown on the sites. 

No wonder a measly 20% of us felt like meeting off the apps was better than an IRL meet-cute. 

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, though, app-weary hearts may wonder if there’s any other realistic way to meet their future beau. 

So, we thought we’d collect some stories of real-life meet cutes from couples who get together without the aid of apps (we asked that they all met in the past ten years, when most apps dating rose to their peak). 

“I’d been single for a few years after over 30 years of long-term, less-than-ideal relationships.” 

Tracey Warren, a careers expert, said she was “perfectly happy with [her] single status” when she started volunteering at the National Trust. 

“I genuinely wasn’t looking for anyone despite some of my more ‘traditional’ friends trying to coax me onto online dating, but I really had no interest,” she told HuffPost UK. 

“I have my rescue cat and hens, a CV writing business to run, an active social life, many friends, hobbies and a best friend of 30 years, Scott, who I do lots of activities with. Life was good.” 

Her love for history, intensified by a visit to Sutton Hoo, led her to apply to the Trust’s once-a-week volunteering gig.

The pair have been together for five months. 

“I count myself as very lucky that all the stars aligned ― the holiday in May with the visit to Sutton Hoo, there being a job vacancy at his property, getting the job over many applicants, and here we are now,” Tracey wrote.

“I met my partner on the bus.” 

Amy Drayton’s story is short but undeniably sweet ― she told HuffPost UK she met her partner on a bus in Prague. 

“We made eye contact but didn’t actually talk on the bus,” she shared. 

But when the pair disembarked at the same stop, the conversation flowed ― they’ve been together ever since. 

“He had just taken a yoga class... he looked completely at peace.“

Hypnotherapist and burnout advisor Charlène Gisèle met her partner after doing a complete 180 on her life.

“Seven years ago, I was teaching yoga on an island in Indonesia (I’d quit my career as a lawyer ― I know it sounds very Eat Pray Love) when I noticed the most handsome man on the beach,” she told us.

“There was something magical about the moment — he had just taken a yoga class at the same studio (not my class, though!), and he looked completely at peace. I remember thinking his eyes were the colour of the sea.” 

The romantic scene just happened after a volcanic eruption, she adds. 

“The air felt charged with something special. It was love at first sight—for both of us.”

This year, the pair are set to marry by the sea. 

“We were set up.”

For Tian Howell, founder of anti-burnout company Micro Moments, her meet-cute moment began after a little nudge.

“I met my boyfriend of three years through his sister, who was a work contact of mine,” she told HuffPost UK.

“We have businesses in the same industry, and he worked as a videographer at her events,” she added. 

Two years after the women first met, Tian says, his sister “finally” set the pair up ― “the rest is history.”