From dating app chat to BTO flat

From dating app chat to BTO flat

Ms Felicia Neo and Mr Melvin Huang swiped right on each other's profile on Tinder in May last year.

Seven months later, they were not only dating, but they also felt committed enough to apply for a Build-To-Order HDB flat together.

For Ms Neo, a 26-year-old business analyst, and Mr Huang, a 28-year-old engineer, it was love at first online chat and deeper love at first sight.

She had just come out of a seven- year relationship and was giving mobile dating a shot.

Most of her friends were women and she wanted to expand her social circle.

He, meanwhile, had never been in a serious relationship and was using Tinder to help find "the one".

He says: "I'm an outgoing person, but I didn't want to keep meeting people in bars and clubs - those relationships very rarely turn out to be for the long term.

"Similar to Felicia's experience, we both felt that the people we met on Tinder were, in fact, quite serious about commitment."

After chatting for four days on the app last year, they decided to meet in real life.

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Ms Neo says: "We were clicking well when chatting and seemed to have many similar values.

"Even though our first impressions were based on looks, it was personality that mattered in the end."

Now, the foodies spend date nights looking for new cafes to try and enjoy taking photographs together.

They recently travelled to Taiwan and Japan together on holiday and hope to get hitched in the next three years.

Neither has any regrets about how their relationship has come about.

Read also: Online dating: Yay or nay?

Ms Neo lets on: "My mother and girlfriends were initially a little creeped out by the idea of me meeting strangers off an app.

"But now that they've seen how great it can be, even my friends have been more encouraged to try the app."

It is a sentiment her beau agrees with.

He says: "Our parents support us and our relatives have been curious about how Tinder can help successfully match people.

"It's definitely an indication that the stigma of using dating apps is gone."


This article was first published on April 3, 2016.
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