‘No Ordinary Love’: Hinge’s First-Ever Audiobook Celebrates Brave, Honest Conversations in Early Dating

Today, Hinge launches the third chapter of No Ordinary Love, a platform celebrating taking emotional risks in dating and saying how you really feel out loud. Developed in partnership with Dazed Studio, the campaign features a free audiobook of five real Hinge love stories – written and narrated by contemporary authors Tembe Denton-Hurst, Nicola Dinan, Curtis Garner, Raven Smith, and Rufi Thorpe. Each author partnered with a real Hinge couple to transform the honest conversations from their early days of dating into stories that inspire others to share what they feel and need in their own dating lives.

Hinge continues to find inspiration in the rise of book-focused conversations on social media and how it deeply resonates with Gen Z. Romance is the most popular genre read by 18-29-year-olds, and audiobooks are growing in popularity with readers, who listen as they go about their daily lives. In conversations with daters, Hinge saw an opportunity to help Gen Z feel more confident in embracing emotional vulnerability and opening up to each other. This year’s stories center on brave conversations between daters – brought to life as an audiobook – so listeners can experience those moments alongside them.

Each author wrote and narrated one couple’s story, along with a foreword by previous No Ordinary author Hunter Harris and an epilogue with reflections from the couples:

• This Is How to Touch Me: Rufi Thorpe (she/her) tells the story of Daniel (he/him) and Roisin (she/her); Roisin breaks every texting rule and messages Daniel immediately after the first date. 
• The Sound It Leaves: Curtis Garner (he/him) tells the story of Oden (he/him) and Edward (he/him); Oden took the risk of asking for a face-to-face conversation with Edward to clear up a texting miscommunication.
• The Week We Were Friends: Tembe Denton-Hurst (she/her) tells the story of Isabella (she/her) and Rebecca (she/her); Isabella and Rebecca agree to stay just friends… and change their minds a week later. 
• Rules to Love By: Nicola Dinan (she/her) tells the story of Carty (she/her) and Raka (she/her). Carty asks Raka to take things slow, even as their feelings start moving fast.
• Thou Shalt Play It Cool: Raven Smith (he/him) tells the story Michael (he/him) and Elena (she/her). Michael transparently shares he had gone on a date with someone else that morning, sparking a discussion about exclusivity. 

"No Ordinary Love has always celebrated the real stories behind relationships. This year, we focused on the conversations that move those relationships forward – the moments where someone asks the question, sends the text, or finally says the hard thing out loud,” said Tamika Young, Hinge’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer (she/her). “These stories were meant to be heard, and an audiobook gave us the opportunity to bring listeners into those moments – to hear the pauses, the hesitation, and everything that happens just before someone finally says it."

Hinge continues to evolve and expand the ways it tells real daters’ stories to meet Gen Z where they are and give daters a choice in how they read or listen to the anthology. The audiobook is now available to listen to for free on Spotify, Libby, Libro.fm, Apple Audiobooks, Barnes & Noble Audiobooks, and it will roll out to additional listening platforms in the coming weeks. As of August 10, all five stories will be available to read and listen to on Substack at no-ordinary-love.com.

“Love is one of the few things people still struggle to talk about honestly. With the third chapter of No Ordinary Love, we wanted to create something that felt less like a campaign and more like a story people could recognize themselves in,” said Jamie Knowles, Managing Director of Dazed Studio (he/him). “Audio gave us the space to slow down, sit with those moments and remind people that vulnerability is often what makes a connection meaningful.”

Hinge is inspiring deeper dialogue by partnering with creators, Substack writers, and podcasters to discuss themes from the stories. The campaign will come to life through out-of-home advertising campaigns in New York City and London. 

No Ordinary Love is an extension of Hinge’s Designed To Be Deleted™ platform. Building on this year’s Can’t Believe We Met on Hinge films, Hinge’s storytelling this year continues to evolve to more deeply reflect the emotional realities of what it’s like to date today. By sharing real, imperfect, and honest love stories of couples who met through the app, Hinge encourages daters as they pursue meaningful connections of their own.