Drew Barrymore, the beloved actress and host of The Drew Barrymore Show, recently shared an experience familiar to many modern daters: she was ghosted after a promising first date. Even someone with her profile and charm wasn’t spared from the now-all-too-common dating phenomenon.
Speaking on her daytime talk show, Barrymore recounted how she had recently gone out to dinner with a man who had asked her out after they matched. At first, the exchange seemed normal — she texted him after their date to say she had enjoyed the evening, and they traded a couple of messages back and forth. But then the texts abruptly stopped. “He ended with ‘Ha,’ and I haven’t heard anything,” she explained to her co-hosts and audience. “So it just happens. I don’t know why! I don’t know why.”
Barrymore’s reaction was a mixture of incredulity and empathy. She stressed that her suitor’s sudden silence left her puzzled — particularly because overtures had seemed sincere enough. “It doesn’t cross my mind to behave like that,” she said. “Like, if you put a fishing pole in it, why aren’t you gonna follow through?” Her comment was both humorous and pointed, capturing the frustration many feel when encouragement turns to radio silence without explanation.
Rather than dwelling on the specific incident, Barrymore used the moment to reassure viewers that ghosting is something even well-connected, successful people experience. She said it “happens to all of us,” including “the best of us,” an especially relatable observation coming from someone who has spent decades in the public eye.
Her co-hosts joined in the conversation, offering colorful reactions that echoed common frustrations with ambiguous communication. Valerie Bertinelli joked about not baiting the hook if you’re not going to reel it in, while Ross Mathews analyzed the subtleties of the final text, which at one point contained several elongated “ha’s,” as if they contained hidden meaning. Their banter underscored how easily small messages can be over-interpreted when someone suddenly goes quiet.
Through it all, Barrymore kept her trademark warmth and humor. She acknowledged that such experiences can make people question themselves, but she urged viewers to be kind to themselves instead of internalizing rejection. “We are all just beautiful, delicate, intricate, funny, little human creatures,” she said, reflecting on how modern dating etiquette can sometimes leave people feeling hurt or confused.
Barrymore, who is 50 and co-hosts her show with a blend of candidness and levity, has long spoken openly about love, relationships, and self-worth. This incident adds to her ongoing public dialogue about the joys and frustrations of dating in an age defined by text messages and abrupt cut-offs.
In the end, her story feels strangely comforting because it shows that even celebrities grapple with the same awkward, confusing moments that most people do. It’s a reminder that rejection, silent or otherwise, is part of the human experience, and that empathy and humor can be powerful tools in navigating it.
