Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Dating is not getting any easier these days, even with the plethora of dating apps available. With one in ten couples reporting they met their significant other on dating apps, the statistics for success aren't great.

Which is why a TikTok challenge went viral among women who decided to ditch dating apps and try to meet their future partner "in the wild"–specifically at Home Depot. (The trend allegedly began in 2021.)The reason? With the goal to connect with hard-working, handy, self-sufficient men. And it's a dating strategy that *actually* worked for TikToker Katelyn Ansari (@katelynnansari).


In October 2024, she shared her experience on TikTok about hitting the home improvement store in hopes of connecting with a man in real-life–and it was the beginning of a beautiful love story for her and boyfriend Tryce Easter. Ansari documented her entire outing, where she asked a man she found cute (Easter) for help on what to purchase to hang a large picture. (Spoiler: she didn't actually have a picture to hang.)

@katelynnansari

Got off the dating apps to find me a blue collar man at Home Depot 😬😬😬 #bluecollarboys #datingtips #datingadviceforwomen #datingapps #HomeDepot #singlelife

In the video, Easter picks out exactly what she should purchase to hang her art, explaining why she needs each item. At the end of the video, Ansari writes that it was the "best $13 she ever spent".

Ansari shared more details about what happened that fateful day at Home Depot in an Instagram post. "Tryce was so nervous about our encounter he gave me my items and started walking away," she wrote. "At that point I thought; maybe he’s married or maybe he’s not interested. Then seconds later, he turns around to ask for my number."

Ansari added that the couple texted for a few days before going on their first date. "He brought me flowers, took me to a nice steak dinner, and we found out we both have a love for dancing and renovating houses. Sometimes the timing is everything ✹."

She also spilled more details about their first date with PEOPLE. "I truly didn't think it would work,” she said. “I've been single for about two years and casually dated here and there, but legitimately every man I met on Bumble or Hinge was a no-go.”

After deciding she wanted an "old-fashioned organic type of love" and a "hard working man", she was willing to try looking at Home Depot. Although she had not had much success dating in recent years, she didn't want to lower her standards. "I actually told myself ‘If he doesn’t bring me flowers [on the first date], he’s not it,’ because it’s a lost token of love to bring flowers on a date. Sure enough, he showed up with a cowboy hat, nice jeans, a button-up and flowers."

And ever since that first date, the couple has been together. Ansari has continued to share videos of the couple on her TikTok page, spending time together at home, tearing up the dance floor together, and yes–more trips to Home Depot. The couple found themselves back where it all began in December 2024. "@Tryce Easter and I came to @The Home Depot to fix my water heater," she wrote in the video's caption.

@katelynnansari

Welllll somehow I messed up the last video and it had no sound so here we are round 2! @Tryce Easter and I came to @The Home Depot to fix my water heater. Any guesses on what we did today?? Promise I’ll tell the besties soon ✹ #homedepot #homeimprovement #homerenovation #relationshipgoals #texascheck #boyfriendcheck

This love story is one for the books. She also told PEOPLE, "It felt like a modern-day fairytale. He’s made me start believing in love and romance again."


More For You

A man and woman kissing in the kitchen

Welcome to the "Boy and Girl apartment" trend

Unsplash

Women living in beautiful apartments share their secrets to co-habitating with a boyfriend

Blending styles can be difficult. Naturally, when two or more people are brought together, their visions aren’t always going to mesh. Like getting a haircut then realizing, after they spin you around for the big reveal, that your barber actually didn’t “totally get” the inspiration photo you brought in. Or teaming up with some friends for a group project in school who you didn't realize were petrified of public speaking. Or, take One Direction for example. Five solo singers who at didn't get along at all at first, brought together only after Simon Cowell corralled them all into a boy band.


Keep ReadingShow less
airport, flying, airport travel
person standing with holding luggage bag

Psychologist reveals exactly why everyone acts weird at airports

Fewer places bring out weirder human behavior than airports. Sleeping on floors? Acceptable. Paying $8 for a bag of chips? Acceptable. And 9 a.m. beers? Totally acceptable. Time (and personal space) seems to suspend itself when you're traveling in them. And psychologist Steve Taylor, a Senior Psychology Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, explained exactly why everything and everyone feels so weird when you're in an airport with The Conversation.

Simply put: airports cause disorientation. "Due to the haziness of time and place, airports create a sense of disorientation," he explains. "We define ourselves in terms of time and place. We know who we are in relation to our daily routines and our familiar environments. We also define ourselves in terms of nationality. Without such markers, we may feel adrift."

Keep ReadingShow less
10-year-old violin prodigy stuns airport travelers with flawless Vivaldi duet
Representative photo by Canva

10-year-old violin prodigy stuns airport travelers with flawless Vivaldi duet

A beautiful blend of talent, courage, and classical music left Rome Airport travelers in awe when a 10-year-old violin prodigy, Yeonah Kim (@yeonah_kim_violin on Instagram), performed an impromptu duet with pianist Julien Cohen. The duo’s breathtaking rendition of Vivaldi’s “Summer” turned the airport’s Terminal 1 into an unexpected concert hall, captivating both onlookers and millions of viewers online.

  Representative photo by Sebastian Mark | Unsplash 

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from Madeline Delp's TikTok video

Madeline Delp records her encounter with a parking attendant.

TikTok | @madelinedelp

Woman chased down over disabled parking spot despite being completely within her rights

A woman using a wheelchair was left shaken after a parking attendant chased her downhill and berated her for parking in a disabled spot—despite her having every legal right to do so. Madeline Delp (@madelinedelp on TikTok) shared the unsettling experience in a series of videos, sparking outrage and support from viewers.

Delp had parked in a wheelchair-accessible spot near a business complex before heading to a doctor's appointment. However, as she made her way down a hill, a parking attendant aggressively pursued her, accusing her of misusing the spot.

Keep ReadingShow less
She noticed something odd in a news photo—25 years after her brother vanished
Representative image via Canva

She noticed something odd in a news photo—25 years after her brother vanished

When someone close suddenly disappears, their family clings fiercely to hope—even if the search stretches across decades. A woman who had spent years desperately searching for her younger brother, Tommy, discovered an astonishing lead after 25 years of uncertainty. Ahead of Thanksgiving, a seemingly ordinary detail in an online news story changed their lives forever.

For decades, the sister had carried deep sadness about Tommy’s disappearance in 1999. According to CNN, Tommy had vanished along with his vehicle without leaving any trace. Over the years, she anxiously scoured reports of unidentified remains, fearing the worst. However, her fortunes changed dramatically after coming across an article in USA Today, which featured a hospitalized man whose identity was unknown, as he could neither speak nor communicate effectively.

Keep ReadingShow less