The date Daniel planned for Alex was perfect.
He had thought of everything: from flowers and dinner, to horseback riding and ice-cream, no romantic stone was left unturned.
But the date was labelled as between “friends only”.
When Alex posted an image from her date on Instagram, complete with a caption gushing about what her "amazing friend" had done, it was branded as the most tragic 'friendzone' ever.
"You out-did yourself on this friend date, Daniel!" Alex wrote.
"You wanted to set a standard for how I should be treated and you sure set a high one. I thank God so much that He put an amazing friend like you in my life. Thank you for making me feel like a true princess!"
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The final blow was dealt when Alex added the hashtag "#stillsingletho" to the post.
As they are wont to do, the people of Twitter jumped to conclusions, assuming that Daniel had tried his hardest to woo Alex, only to be placed firmly into friend territory.
The only problem? That was 100 per cent NOT the case.
Daniel has since clarified that it was his idea from the very beginning to set the friendship boundary.
"This post is to clear up my whole 'friend' date," he wrote in a post on Instagram that was shared on Twitter.
"First off, I am the one who set these boundaries to begin with. I am also the one who made up the hashtag as a joke.
"Leading up to the day, Alex had shared with me her testimony, and because of her past relationships her self worth had diminished. She had never been treated like a lady and I wanted to show her what it was like," he wrote.
He also urged those poking fun at the 'date' to "stop the harrassment".
If only we all had a friend like Daniel.
Top Comments
I thought it was super sweet until I read his message. "She's never been treated like a lady....she's a woman of God and lives for God...." Ew. He sounds lovely and was doing such a lovely thing for his friend....but I just had all that lady and god stuff. So many connotations...
Imagine if a woman organised and paid for all that for a male friend... just to show how he deserves to be treated...
Yes, imagine. However, that is not what is being discussed in the article. The article is not pointing out that there is inequality. It is simply pointing out that things were not as they seem.
I actually did the other day! I know he's been badly hurt in the past and wanted to show him how he deserves to be treated. I spent hours getting ready so I could look my absolute best, I took him out to dinner at a restaurant he'd never tried, took him to fun bars he'd never been to and also to the circus! I insisted on paying for everything and he was absolutely beside himself and could stop gushing about what an amazing time he had - although he found it very difficult to have everything paid for for him I'm so so glad I did it & hopefully have set a new standard for him.
Every one deserves to be treated to a great night out and shown that they're worth that extra bit of effort. Just the look on his face & seeing him so happy made it worth every single cent & more!