Why men should always pay on the first date

A TikTok-famous divorce lawyer has sparked a heated debate after he revealed why he thinks men should pay on the first date.

A divorce lawyer has spilled on why it’s important for men to pay on the first date – but his reasons aren’t as romantic as you may think.

‘Break-up’ lawyer Justin Lee, from Toronto, Canada, shared his thoughts in a clip on TikTok, saying men should cough up on the first date for their “own good”.

“Your date, whoever that is, may very well be the person you end up marrying. And trust me when I say, as a divorce lawyer, who you end up marrying is so, so important,” he began in the video, which has clocked half a million views so far, New York Post reports.

Divorce lawyer Justin Lee says that men paying on the first date has more benefits than costs. Picture: TikTok/jleejd

“When us guys take an issue with paying on the first date, the issue isn’t tied to the number of dollars we’re spending at the end of the day.

“And if it is, respectfully, you need to go get a job,” he said.

“The issue is when we end up paying for someone who has this real sense of entitlement, like this expectation that we will pay. That’s precisely why we need to always pay.”

He explained that doing so reveals the true nature of the person you are across the table from – for better or worse.

“So let’s say at the end of the date, you pull out your wallet, you offer to pay and your date just sits there, expecting you to pay, as if that is the obvious course of action. In that moment, what did you just learn?” he said in the video.

He said it was a good way to tell if your date was ‘entitled’. Picture: TikTok/jleejd

“You just learned that the person in front of you is entitled and frankly has the audacity to expect a near-stranger to pay for them.”

He argued that for the one-time cost of dinner and drinks, it could save a guy from a lifetime of misery.

“Just imagine how someone like that will treat their significant other, their spouse. For a low, low price of 20, 30, 40 dollars or whatever, you learned that the person in front of you does not have the basic courtesy to pretend to offer to pay,” he said.

“Now, therefore you should never go on another date with them. And that’s why men should always pay on the first date.”

His video sparked a huge debate over dating red flags. Picture: TikTok/jleejd

But not everyone agreed with the lawyer’s dating tip, with many quick to call it a red flag when a man won’t pay for a night out.

“Oh boy, this sparked quite a debate. A lot of you are missing the point of the video – it’s not about who actually ends up paying,” he said.

“It is about respecting and appreciating the gesture. As I said in the video, men will gladly pay – the payment isn’t the issue. The issue is when women perceive the payment as an obligation as opposed to a kind gesture. Entitled vs Appreciative. No one owes anybody anything!”

“For the record, this isn’t gender-specific,” Justin said, reiterating that same point in a follow-up video. “Any man or woman who feels entitled in any way toward the other is a walking red flag.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission