Lily James explains dating turn offs and why she ‘despaired’ when looking at Hinge

Lily James has explained why she felt “despaired” when checking out a friend’s Hinge account and opened up about her own dating turn offs.

The 33-year-old talked about her love life while appearing on Monday’s episode of the Capital Breakfast radio show, to promote her newest rom-com, What’s Love Got to Do with It? When asked if she had any previous dating experiences that “went horribly wrong,” James said she didn’t have any “crazy stories,” since she’s been a “serial relationshiper”.

However, she did reveal that she checked out her pal’s Hinge account and wasn’t too pleased with what was on there.

“I just despaired, I mean, come on,” she explained. “The guys, they were rubbish!”

When asked what her “icks” are when dating, the Pam and Tommy star referred to a phrase from What’s Love Got to Do with It? In the film, James plays a filmmaker who ends up changing her perspective on love as she documents her best friend’s arranged marriage.

“There’s a line in the film where my character’s looking at this guy and he’s got a sentimental quote,” she explained on Capital Breakfast. “And she’s like, ‘He’s fit enough that I’ll overlook the sentimental quote,’ which is like, ‘everyday is a new day, rainbows whatever.’ But that would be a bit of a turn off for me.”

She further clarified that seeing sentimental quotes when getting the “first look at someone” seems a bit embarrassing” to her.

James did say that one thing she would enjoy if tried online dating is a “little bit of banter” from a Hinge match.

This isn’t the first time that James has shared stories about her dating life. During an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK in 2019, she described the most romantic thing that someone had done for her.

“When I had an old boyfriend, who was very sweet, he showed up on Valentine’s Day at my mom’s house, I still lived at home, I was like 16,” she said. “He knocked on my door, told me to be quiet, put the music on, and did the Love Actually cards things…I felt a bit awkward though, but it was really sweet.”

Regarding her relationship status, James made her relationship with musician Michael Shuman Instagram official in February 2022 and shared a series of photos of them on vacation together. Although she has opted not to speak publicly about Shuman, they attended the Oscars together in 2022.

Since then,The Sun reported earlier this month that the couple have split, with a source claiming that they’ve “grown apart”. The reported breakup came months after they first sparked engagement rumours. James was spotted with a gold ring on her finger while at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2022.