Sabrina Lehnert from Aalen hopes for love on “First Dates”

“First Dates – A Table for Two”: Why Sabrina Lehnert (40) from Aalen is looking for a partner at a dinner in Roland Trettl’s restaurant.

Eels. Sabrina Lehnert is nervous. The woman from Aalen rubs her hands again and again as she talks about her first blind date. They suspect that her nervousness will not leave her until Friday evening. They have invited ten friends over for this evening. Together they want to watch the next episode of the dating documentary “First Dates – A Table for Two”, a ratings hit on the TV channel Vox. This time Sabrina Lehnert will see herself; as a candidate for host Roland Trettl.

Read also: A first-date flirt with Roland Trettl

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Will it work in the end?

A table set for two. And two singles who are seeing each other for the first time, sitting opposite each other for three quarters of an hour over dinner, feeling each other out with hesitant glances and words, and trying to relieve the tension with cheerful laughter. Will there be a spark between the 40-year-old brunette from Aalen and her dating partner in the end? The single mother will keep the answer to this question a secret until next Friday – the broadcast is at 6 p.m.

The single mother is looking for something binding

Three days before the broadcast, 8 a.m.: Sabrina Lehnert has just driven her daughter (6) and son (7) to kindergarten and school respectively. Now, shortly before starting work – Sabrina works as a care advisor for a health insurance company – she has time for an interview. After the separation five and a half years ago, she says, there comes a point – “well” – when you long for more feelings again, for a partner, for something binding.

“I’ve had enough of dating apps,” she says, and talks about past disappointments. Something about the fact that the personal information on the portals is often not honest. That it turns out later that the partner doesn’t want to commit after all, and that children are a “red flag” for him.

Sabrina Lehnert rubs her palms together again. The tattoo of the word “Perspective” is clearly visible on her right forearm. “Sometimes you have to change your perspective to see the sky,” she replies to the questioning look.

Sabrina’s decision was made a year ago

A change of perspective. It was with this hopeful expectation that she made the decision to sign up for “First Date” exactly one year ago. Why there? “The format is cool, I like it.” “The candidates are not exposed in front of the public, the requirements are real,” answers Sabrina, who works as an aerobics fitness instructor in her limited free time.

What expectations the woman from Aalen has of her date

Just three days after she registered, the First Dates editorial team contacted her by phone. “They conducted an hour-long interview with me to find out what I expected,” she says. What my date should look like, whether he can have children, how tall and old he should be. “They even asked if he could have food intolerances and be tattooed,” says the woman from Aalen. They answered very spontaneously. But one thing was important to the 1.78 meter tall candidate: “That he is taller than me and lives within a maximum of 50 kilometers of Aalen.”

Only a few months later, the “First Dates” editorial team had found a match, i.e. a suitable candidate, and set the recording date: Friday, March 9, 2024.

Found the right outfit in Aalen fashion stores

Inspired by the consistently positive response from her friends, Sabrina quickly found a suitable outfit in Aalen’s fashion stores: a black dress, a denim jacket over it and black boots on her feet. On March 8th, she took the train to Cologne. She became more and more excited with every kilometer she traveled. “Will my date even come?” the 40-year-old asked herself.

She received the answer the next morning. “A minibus drove us from the hotel to the filming location. An inconspicuous restaurant, somewhere in a dead end street in Cologne. “From the outside, you wouldn’t suspect that TV recordings were taking place inside,” Sabrina reports. Inside, she was greeted by Roland Trettl, “a very friendly and open guy.” Out of the corner of her eye, Sabrina saw that someone was already sitting at the bar. She was so excited that she ordered a cocktail with alcohol. “Something with pear, it was very tasty.” Afterwards, at dinner with her date, she “could hardly get anything down.”

Wow! Could it be this man?

Is it even possible to make a decision within 45 minutes, like: Wow, this could be the man? “I think,” says Sabrina Lehnert, “that you know that after the first ten minutes.”