Are creatives cursed when it comes to dating?

Whether you're in the game, out of the game... good at the game, or simply have no game, the struggles of dating could be seen as universal. Sure, it's a little different if you're 60 or 16, but the premise is still similar. I actually think the biggest difference comes between industries. Does dating look the same if you're a neurosurgeon as it does if you're a stylist? The closer I look at it, the more it seems that 'creatives' are especially cursed when it comes to the quest for love.

There are all the regular pressures of getting to know someone in this way – then there's also the need for compatibility in cinema, art, literature, theatre, music, food, and just about every other artistic pursuit imaginable. Do you both love or hate Wes Anderson? Better to establish this early on; otherwise, how will you ever choose which movie to watch?

A dear friend of mine nearly didn't go on a date with a guy whom she came to really like just because he was wearing a pair of Yeezys. As a fashion designer, her outfits are a carefully executed way of expressing herself – so by default, she assumes this is the case for everyone else too. The hapless Yeezy wearer (who's working as a trainee doctor, by the way) may have just grabbed them off the shelves in a hurry or perhaps he saw his favourite sports player wearing them on Instagram and just assumed they were cool. For him, they're not a representation of who he is – they're just shoes. Though for her, they're a window into his soul – a way of understanding more than can be explained with words alone.

Add into this weird 'creative' mix that, in our world, everyone seems to know everyone. The stylist you met on a shoot went to CSM with a photographer that you recently worked with and had a drink with afterwards. 'Apparently,' he's dated half the actresses at some boutique agency, and now you're doubting your connection. Now it seems like he's a 'player' whose only intention is to get in your knickers. So, you never see him again... just because someone said something that may or may not be true or might have been once but is now outdated information. The potential for a very real connection crushed before it had barely even begun.

The incestuous nature of the creative industry leaves no room for error. You're walking into an after-party at The Standard – hoping you don't run into that one-night stand you met at Shoreditch House or your old boss, or even the DJ you kissed last September at fashion week. It's a minefield. London already seems surprisingly small for a city with nearly nine million people - but dip your toe into the creative industry, even just for a moment, and suddenly it feels like you're back in the school playground, stuck in a never-ending game of kiss chase. Yet another way for creatives to fall casualty to the trials and tribulations of courtship.

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