From getting picked up in the pouring rain in Milan to taking a helicopter ride over Central Park, this American woman travelling the world in search of love has certainly had her fair share of interesting dates.
Anne Marie Hagerty began a ‘worldwide quest’ to find her husband two years ago after splitting from a man she thought she ‘was going to marry’.
Since then, she’s visited 25 countries, exploring the dating scene in each and collecting anecdotes like souvenirs. She posts her dating adventures to her TikTok account (@annemariehagerty), where she’s amassed 50,000 followers.
The 28-year-old spoke to MailOnline Travel about her international encounters – sharing details on the most romantic spots and places that failed to capture her heart.
Anne Marie Hagerty (above) has dated in more than 25 countries on a ‘worldwide quest’ to find a husband. She’s pictured above in Mykonos, Greece
MailOnline Travel spoke to Anne Marie about her dating adventures. She told us about the world’s most romantic spots and places that didn’t capture her heart. She’s pictured above in Petra, Jordan
Before her dating quest, Anne Marie was certainly no stranger to travel. She moved from a small town in North Carolina to New York, has jetted everywhere from Japan to Panama, and even lived in India when she was 18. But, she said, dating abroad opened her eyes to a ‘whole other side’ of travel.
The most romantic places, she claimed, are New York, Italy and Croatia. Anne Marie described New York as her ‘number one’ place to date. And said it’s a ‘huge part’ of why she moved there.
She explained: ‘The serendipity of the city is magical, plus being surrounded by millions of people, but finding one special person feels like you’re living in a super-romantic movie.
‘I love grand romantic gestures and unique experiences, and New York is the best place in the world to make those things happen. For example, I planned a date for a guy to ride in a doors-off helicopter over the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Central Park.’
New York is Anne Marie’s ‘number one’ place to find men. She said being in the city ‘feels like you’re living in a super-romantic movie’. She’s pictured above in the West Village
Anne Marie said dating in different countries opened her eyes to a ‘whole other side’ of travel. She’s pictured left in Plitvice National Park, Croatia, and pictured right on a beach in Split, Croatia
And Italy also left her swooning with delight. There she experienced one of her ‘best dates’. In Milan, Anne Marie was picked up in the pouring rain by a stranger. ‘He walked up to me and said, “I think you’re beautiful, I’d love to take you to dinner,”‘ she said.
Lake Como was another passionate spot. She said it’s ‘hands-down the most romantic place I have ever been in my life’. But overall, she claimed it was tricky to find dates in Italy.
Meanwhile Croatia, she said, was just as romantic and easier to meet people in than Italy. She explained: ‘It has the charms of Italy with a more off-the-beaten-path feeling. And people were generally more friendly and open to early-stage dating.’
Although not as romantic as some places she’s visited, Anne Marie said London was one of her favourite places to date.
Anne Marie is pictured in Notting Hill, London. She claimed the city is one of her favourite places to date in the world
Anne Marie hasn’t enjoyed the dating scene in every country. She found it difficult to meet men in Switzerland. She’s pictured left in Lucerne, Switzerland. Anne Marie said: ‘I found Swiss people are more insular’
She found an ‘interesting combination of men’ in the UK capital, and while she had some ‘weird encounters’, she said most were ‘sweet, reserved, and pretty chivalrous’.
What made it stand out? She said: ‘There’s some sense of global connection and an ability to connect to the world in some ways.
‘There’s also something sweet to me about British culture. There’s tea, there’s Sunday roasts, it’s just very sweet and very family-oriented.’
But Anne Marie wasn’t left impressed by everywhere she’s visited. She said while Colombia is an ‘amazing country’ with ‘cool food’, the dating scene is ‘not for me’.
She explained: ‘There’s a little bit of this in all of Latin America, but it’s a very machismo culture that I’m not about.’ Mexico was another place where she found men to be ‘quite chauvinistic and pushy’.
She also struggled to connect with men in Switzerland, where she said it was ‘difficult to get to know people more deeply’.
She added: ‘I found Swiss people are more insular and they tend to stay within their groups. I respect it and they are very kind, but they’re not the most welcoming to newcomers.’
While Anne Marie visited dozens of countries with the intention of finding a husband, she’s yet to find the one.
For now, she said, she’s enjoying the process, meeting new people and exploring connections without ‘high expectations’.
For more from Anne Marie visit her TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@annemariehagerty – or her Instagram profile at www.instagram.com/annemariehagerty.
