Nicola Prentis has chosen to take things slow, and often celibate, in order to avoid the world of dating apps.honeyhousephotography.comAs a single mother who works from home, Nicola Prentis found that dating apps were the only way to meet new men.App dating led to endless messaging, and even being ghosted, so she opted for long bouts of celibacy.She turned to long-standing male friends for romance instead and has had far more fun.In 2019, after becoming a single mother with only alternate weekends free to date, I joined Tinder, then OK Cupid, and even spent time on Bumble.I had lived in seven countries, given birth to my two sons, and gone through a difficult breakup, but at this point was happily settled as a writer working from my home in Spain.