Romance and fairy tale movies may have set a high precedent for what we expect in relationships, love, and especially first kisses. Aren’t they always the same? Lead actress trips, ridiculously good-looking co-star swoops in to catch her and sparks fly as their lips coincidentally touch. For seven seconds. With some slow tempo song to match 12 camera angles.
But the truth is, sometimes our lives are more likened to horror or comedy genres with sloppy kisses and awkward hand gestures by our real life ‘oppas’.
Whether we were left breathless figuratively or literally after being suffocated by his tongue, one thing’s for sure—first kisses are always memorable.
We got in touch with 15 Singaporean girls to find out how their first kisses went, and here are their stories.
*Some names have been changed to protect identities
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It happened at a breakwater at East Coast Park. I was with a male friend who I suspected liked me, even though he never admitted it. I liked him too, but since I had no guts to ask him in person, I texted him, “Just wondering, do you like me?” even though we were sitting side by side in awkward silence.
While he was looking at the text I’d sent, a cockroach ran past on the floor and I jumped up in fear. He reacted by holding me, and then we kissed!
Julia, 27
I’d just graduated from 10-year of girl’s school life and was cluelessly awkward when it came to physical intimacy with guys. A few weeks into my first relationship, my boyfriend and I were sitting at Clarke Quay and he was lying on my lap.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed my head and pulled me in for our first kiss. I was excited because it was my first kiss but it didn’t feel good at all. I just felt this wet tongue moving but I didn’t say a word since I thought it was just my problem. It’s safe to say I cringe every time I recall this.
Lisa, 22
I was 15 and was dating my first boyfriend. While we were in the lift, he tried to kiss me on the cheek but I turned my head so the kiss ended up on my lips. Stunned, I slapped him on the arm and yelled, “NOOOO that was my first kiss and that’s not how it should’ve turned out!”
Yvonne, 19
It was on a Saturday afternoon with my first boyfriend. We were watching Argo in my basement and I remember being unable to focus the entire time because I knew he would try to kiss me. He tried twice but being as nervous as I was, I dodged both times. As he was about to leave, I lured him back to the basement and finally let him kiss me.
Jenn, 19
I was at my friend’s 13th birthday party, and I had a huge crush one of the boys there, Caleb. At the end of the party, he asked me to slow dance with him. Right before the night ended, he said, “I’ve to go now because my mum’s here to pick me up, but I just wanted to do this first” and then kissed me.
The next day, he asked me to be his girlfriend. However, he broke up with me three days later—the day before my birthday.
Jac, 22
He was my first ‘real’ boyfriend, and at 15, I was still innocent and naive. I told myself no kissing unless we’d dated for at least a year. In the end, we watched “Now You See Me” at Shaw Lido and it kind of just… happened. At that point in time, I thought “OMG it’s happening”. My heart was racing all the way home.
Shauna, 19
It was my first clubbing experience at Zouk. I went with my Primary school friends and one of them was my long-time crush. He brought along his group of basketball friends and I found one of his friends pretty cute so we ended up drunk-kissing. I felt so bad towards my crush the next day, but he was cool with it and today we’re still friends.
Elsa, 21
I was at a birthday party for one of my classmates in Secondary two. I had a crush on the birthday boy but I ended up hitting it off with his best friend. Call it raging hormones, but after a few weeks, he planted a kiss on me and then we made out for an entire evening. He was a good kisser though, so no complaints here.
Nat, 24
Since we had home learning day, I hadn’t seen this classmate I liked over the long weekend. However, he surprised me at my condo. I live right by Bukit Timah Railway, so I went out to meet him there. We sat and talked for a bit, and during a lull, it happened. After we kissed, he asked, “Wait, am I your first?”. I quipped back, “Yes, but don’t flatter yourself!”.
Sherry, 18
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It happened with my ex when he was my best friend. While having dinner after a study session, he cheekily asked me if my ex-boyfriend was a good kisser. He soon realised I hadn’t had my first kiss and joked, “If you want, you can hit me up.”, I replied, “Okay if you’re not bad then why not?”.
Since we were at MOS Burger, he insisted we find somewhere more romantic for me to lose my first kiss. We ended up at a garden porch of some hotel, and then it happened. It was truly magical since he was a good kisser, and we had a good laugh at how unromantic it had been once we got together.
Shantelle, 20
I owe my first kiss to a game of truth or dare. I ended up losing it to one of my friends, which is fine, other than the fact that he was such a wet kisser. At least it wasn’t to a random stranger.
Chrys, 24
It happened four years ago, at the bus stop just opposite my polytechnic. I was in the middle of a deep romantic talk with my then-boyfriend when he leant in and gave me a quick peck on my lips. I felt really awkward and nervous because I didn’t want to seem like a loser who didn’t know how to kiss.
Back then, I assumed everyone naturally knew how to kiss and that it was something that would happen naturally. He was definitely a good kisser because he had experience, but he was my first.
Gina, 22
My first boyfriend and I were snuggled up in bed on a rainy day watching a Studio Ghibli movie, Spirited Away. I was lying on his chest, and he gave me a peck on my forehead. I genuinely felt like my whole world was going to explode, and panicked internally because I didn’t know what to expect.
While I was freaking out, he tilted my chin up and went for it. It was a shy kiss, but it felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest.
Terese, 20
My first relationship began when I was 21 (yup late bloomer, I know), and my first kiss happened in a movie theatre. When I saw him slowly turn to me and lean in, I became a nervous wreck and I kept telling myself “Go for it Sara, stay calm!” and inched forward.
As we leant in closer, I chickened out and hugged him instead. He burst out laughing in the movie theatre, then tried again and this time, I didn’t chicken out. It was a nice peck on the lips, nothing fancy but enough to make me blush.
Sara, 23
This guy I met on Friendster invited me to his house to watch movies, but since I barely knew him, I asked my best friend to accompany me. She agreed, only to back out last minute so I ended up going to his house alone.
Throughout the movie, he kept inching closer to my side of the couch till it happened. The kiss. He came on to me like a starved kid who hadn’t had food for days, and he came on too strong. I didn’t know how to react because I was still young and naive—I was only 14! But I just went along with it in the end.
Valerie, 25
While first kisses are usually relegated to the realm of cringe-worthy memories, they’re still memories worth remembering—even if it’s just for a laugh.
This article was first published on 6 June 2017 and last updated on 19 March 2024.
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