You could've viewed one another's profiles: perhaps sent virtual gifts or 'flirted' (some sites call it 'winked'... it’s all the same thing really!). Perhaps the two of you even swiped right. Messages could've been exchanged. Perhaps, even, a first date simply led to nothing afterwards...

It may even be worse: maybe they 'ghosted' you. So, in this case you ask, what is the protocol when you meet your online flirt in real life?

Bumping into Your Flirt: Your Escape Options

Thankfully, there are a few choices that you can pick from. Think of it like a video game:

• Run away. Run away very fast.
• Acknowledgment and an awkward "how are yah" nod.
• Simply avoid one another… Which doesn’t always work.
• Say a friendly hello and continue with your evening.
• Get up, stand on a chair and make the announcement known to the whole room that you and this person know one another from eHarmony.

So, what’s the easiest? Well, the answer is pretty obvious: number 4.

Bumping into someone you’ve dated on an app, a site or even from a speed dating event can be awkward. This is especially true if there were no callbacks or if both of you simply lost interest in one another (and that does happen!).

The most mature thing, according to blogger Erika Ettin, is to simply downplay the whole thing. And we would most certainly agree: what on earth is the point of running away, overreacting or otherwise making a holy show of yourself? Yes, it can be awkward but we all need to wake up and smell the coffee. It’s a small world that we live in. You’re going to encounter people again whom you’d rather not. That’s life.