Girlfriend draws up 17-page contract for Tinder flame after dating two weeks
She’s basically a modern-day Rachel Green, and they are definitely NOT on a break.
Annie Wright, 21, drafted a 17-page relationship contract after dating her now-boyfriend for only two weeks.
While it’s no 18-page letter to Ross Geller, Wright’s contract to her boyfriend Michael Head, 23, was just as extensive.
The contract came with four main objectives: honesty, communication, awareness of partner’s needs and clarity and alignment in their intentions.
“I made the idea as a joke, then he said, ‘No, seriously. We can do that and talk about it,’ ” Wright, an Atlanta, Georgia, native, told Kennedy News.
The couple met last October on Tinder after Wright left a toxic relationship, and she was determined to make this relationship with Head, a law student, work out.
“At the time, I had braces in college, and I was very embarrassed,” said Wright. “It was also pandemic time. But I got to the point where I was like ‘screw it — I’m going on dates with guys and don’t care anymore.’ I matched with almost anybody on Tinder and would tell my matches, ‘I’m going on a walk with my dog at 2 p.m. today — are you free?’ It was a fluke that I met him. I was going on three Tinder dates a week to go out there and meet people.”
Thankfully when Wright met Head they instantly clicked. “He was like, ‘I want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend,’ ” Wright said. “In order to be ready for that, we had to lay some serious ground rules.”
Within the 17-page document, Wright outlined all of her expectations for their relationship, which asked Head for no silent treatment, to pay for date nights and to not isolate her from her loved ones.
“We printed out terms and conditions, I went over to his place, we sat on either end of the bed and read them out loud,” she recalls. “I felt like the biggest issue I had in my last relationship was it felt like boundaries of mine were crossed that I never established. I was like, ‘This time I’ll write them out and no one can cross my boundaries.’ Michael’s also pre-law so he was pretty keen on the idea of making a contract.”
Additionally, she asked for “a romantic gesture once every two weeks” and to work out “at least five times a week.”
“We treat our relationship almost like a business interaction,” Wright told the Sun. “We deal with conflict like partners in business would. We sit down and treat it more like we’re partners in life, and love is an added bonus.”
Clearly something is working for the two of them as they are approaching their anniversary. Wright joked that her boyfriend will want to add a clause or two of his own, including taking off shoes in his apartment, which she “always forgets” to do.
“This has been a game changer,” said Wright, who is surprised more couples don’t draw up contracts. “I’d recommend all couples have one. It’s the best thing ever.
“People just fall into relationships,” said Wright. “This makes me know what I’m signing up for. I live in constant fear of waking up two years into a relationship and realizing my partner doesn’t have the same life plan as me. You’ve put one or two years into a relationship, but you don’t agree on the core things. If you don’t have that core connection, you’re wasting time and prolonging heartbreak. At this point, we update it every six months or so. We’ll visit it.”
The contract, Wright claims, is what contributes to their relationship success.
“We’re partners in this,” Wright said. “We’re agreeing to tackle life together and this is our game plan for doing it.”
