You should have known better. Or maybe you did; you just didn’t care. You’d heard the horror stories and the admonitions: “Don’t date a/you r… ” But some things are easier said than done, and forbidden fruit tastes so much sweeter.

I’m suddenly reminded of a quote from a book I read long ago. The book is titled Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (you may remember the movie of the same name starring Kevin Spacey). “Truth, like art, is in the eye of the beholder. You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I know.”

On “Oprah,” I watched a segment on women living in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was struck by the comments of one particular woman. She was tall, lean, blonde, 44 years old, and enjoying her singleness.

Denmark has been named by researchers as the happiest country in the world. There is free health care, free college (as a matter of fact, students are actually paid to attend college), a year paid maternity leave, and four years support if you lose your job.

With titles like “When Harry Ate Sally,” “ET: The Extra Testicle,” and “The Bare Bitch Project,” it’s no wonder porn has a bad wrap. But, not all porn is of the absurd nature. In fact, porn’s intimidating nature is disintegrating and actually more and more women are seeking it out—to invigorate their sex lives.

We all know the stories, a beautiful young woman meeting her Prince Charming, falling in love and living happily ever after. What these storytellers fail to mention is that you may have to kiss a lot of frogs before finding your Prince and once you do, there are no guarantees that it will end in happily ever after. In most cases, it will end without the birds singing and wrapped in the pretty bow that we remember from “Cinderella.”

According to one of my former boyfriends, he absolutely hated me when first we met. I have to say the feeling was mutual. I had just gotten off a red-eye from New York to London and was tired, cranky, and hadn’t showered. No wonder he didn’t love me right off the bat.

There are roughly one million thoughts and worries swarming through our heads on a first date. Is this a good match? Was that story I told funny-weird or just weird? And if the date takes place at a restaurant, the anxiety increases tenfold. Do I have food in my teeth? Did I order too little/too much? However, there’s an upside to having that first outing center on food—it could indicate whether a second date’s in the future.

When I was in high school, one of my friends was the most sought-after girl in school. I had other friends that were prettier, smarter, and nicer but boys were crazy for her.

It took me a little while, but I finally figured out why she was constantly asked out, in a relationship or every guy’s dream girl. She was approachable.

I was watching an episode of “South Park” the other night. One of the characters, Mrs. Garrison, was fed up with men and decided to become a lesbian. At first, she had a hard time imagining what sex between two lesbians looked like. Other characters in the episode had a hard time imagining it, too. Each of them just said, “Well, maybe they just scissor or something …” before trailing off. Maybe they just scissor or something? What?

First dates: magical moments when you realize you have a connection with someone—or the stuff nightmares are made of.

The fine art of first dates can be the beginning of a beautiful relationship or wreak havoc on the egos of even the most confident among us.