Is Home Depot the cure to dating app fatigue?
A TikTok trend features women wandering the aisles of the home improvement store with variations on the caption, “When dating apps aren’t working out so it’s time to look confused in a Home Depot.” (Or, in some cases, Lowe’s.)
For one woman, the challenge to find an in-person connection worked.
Katelyn Ansari, a single mom of two who had recently moved to Texas from California, was exhausted by online dating when she decided to change her strategy.
“I was just really not finding any luck," she tells TODAY.com, adding that people "were nothing like who they said they were online.”
So, Ansari decided to get off the apps and into the real world. Ansari first made her way to Scheels, a popular sporting goods store in Texas. “I went in the hunting section, I found no luck. I struck out," she says.
Trusting “the girlies' advice on TikTok,” Ansari decided not to lose hope. She headed over to Home Depot with a “mission in mind.”
Whereas most TikToks of the trend are of women in Home Depot, Ansari took it a step further and actually introduced herself to another shopper. She asked the man, Tryce Easter, for help searching for the necessary items to hang a picture frame.
“I could have asked a store associate and gotten the same answer, but, you know, he was tall, and handsome,” she jokes. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna shoot my shot.’ So I did, and completely blacked out because of the nerves,’” she recalls.
Her viral video of the moment has over 6 million views on TikTok. “POV you took the girlies advice and went searching for a blue collar man at Home Depot because dating apps suck,” she wrote.
Between the clips she posted of the interaction, Ansari says she and Easter made nervous small talk.
“I think it clicked for him where he was like, 'Oh, I want to get her number. And so, you know, he turned around and asked,” she says.
Easter later texted to ask Ansari on a formal date. Ansari describes his approach as “intentional” which, coincidentally, she had picked as her "word of the year" before they met.
"On our first date, he brought me flowers. I just feel like, in the dating world, it’s like, Do you want to hang out? Are you free this day? No flowers, no sweet anything,” she says.
The two quickly got to know each other. “He’s from East Texas, born and raised. And he’s a fireman," Ansari shares.
Surprisingly enough, Ansari and Easter found out that they share several hobbies (like two-stepping) and run in similar social circles, just on very different schedules. “He works odd shifts. And then I have two boys, so I’m not necessarily in the social scene all the time," she says.
A few months on, the two are still dating and share snippets of their lives on social media, like their date nights and relationship advice.
Ansari didn't post her now-viral video — which was sitting in her TikTok drafts — until they had made their relationship official.
“He had no idea that I had these videos, and I posted the first one. I just went about my day, you know, whatever. And then I saw that it was going viral,” she says.
Ansari says their relationship stands out because it feels like they are growing together. “I’m taking it slower, and I’m telling him the things that I need, and he’s welcoming them in. He's like, I want you to thrive. I want you to have everything you want in life," she says. “It feels really nice to be enough for somebody”.
She hopes her story encourages other women to get out of their comfort zones when it comes to dating.
“It’s my drive behind it. Knowing that women are feeling like they can have hope that there are still good guys out there — I love being that inspiration,” she shares.
On Valentine's Day, the two appeared on TODAY to talk about their viral love story and Ansari said they're still going strong.
"I just feel like we're kind of kindred souls, so it's really nice that it was the right place, the right time. I feel like we were meant to meet," she said.
Easter also talked about their romantic encounter and said he "did not pick up on the fact that she (Ansari) was flirting" with him until much later.
"We finished the exchange, and then I was like, 'OK, I'm going to go back to finishing what I was doing.' And I was like, 'Wait. Hey, can I get your number?' And she said, 'Yes.' And then we went on a couple of dates, and then I got to know her," he explained.
When they went on their first date, Ansari said that she knew Easter was the right man for her when he bought her flowers.
"I was like, if he brings me flowers, this is meant to be. And, you know, I'm rushing, getting ready, because I'm always rushing, and I open the door and he has a bouquet of flowers. I just melted," she said.
As for their plans for Valentine's Day, well, Easter already has a surprise in store for Ansari.
"She doesn't know what's up," he gushed.
