Romance Guide - How to Date All Girlfriends - GTA: San Andreas Guide - IGN (2024)

Throughout Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, CJ runs into several love interests that he can take out on dates. In total, the protagonist can have relationships with six different girls, with each offering him a perk, a car and a unique outfit.

As with most side activities, there's a lot to dating in San Andreas, so for those looking to woo every woman in Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas, here's a detailed breakdown of how to do it. This guide includes an update for the GTA: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition release for Xbox, PC, and PS5.

Looking for a specific section? Use the links below to find exactly what you're looking for:

• The Basics
• How to Date Denise
• How to Date Katie
• How to Date Michelle
• How to Date Barbara
• How to Date Millie
• How to Date Helena

The Basics

Before you set out on your quest for love, it's worth knowing exactly how the dating activity works. Although CJ will meet two girlfriends via the Burning Desire and Key to Her Heart story missions, the majority of his suitors are found while exploring San Andreas. You'll know an NPC is dateable because they'll have a blue arrow above their head.

To begin dating a girl, approach them. They'll tell you whether or not they're attracted to you. If they aren't attracted to you, a prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen explaining what you can do to better fit their preference. If they are attracted to you, they'll ask you whether or not you want to start dating. Reply positively and you'll begin going out.

If CJ has high sex appeal, it will nullify all appearance preferences. If you're looking to date every girl in San Andreas, it's worth focusing on that rather than changing your look to suit all of their requirements.

From now on, your girlfriend's home will appear as a heart icon on the map. If you want to take them out, head over to their house and drive into the red marker. They'll come out to greet you and ask to go on one of three dates: dinner, dancing or a drive.

Dinner is the most common of the three and tasks the player with driving to a fast-food joint, bar, restaurant or diner. Most girlfriends will have a preference for one of the four and will only have a good date if they're taken to that venue. On the map, bars will be marked by a martini icon, restaurants will be marked by a knife and fork icon, diners will be marked by a coffee icon and fast food joints will be marked by a burger, chicken or pizza icon.

As for dancing, it'll see CJ take his girlfriend to a club and complete a dancing mini-game. The activity revolves around inputting rhythm-based controls in time with the club's music. If you dance poorly, the girl will get angry. If you dance well, she'll be happy. Clubs will be marked on the map by a record icon.

Finally, the driving mini-game tasks you with finding a part of San Andreas your girlfriend likes and driving around it at a speed she feels comfortable with. You'll have to fill the "fun" bar that appears on the right-hand side of the screen, with a full bar resulting in a successful date.

Some girlfriends will also have special dates. These activities are unique to the girlfriend and will override whichever of the three dates you were originally assigned, making them a good way to avoid doing the activities you find the most time-consuming. They range from riding as a passenger to letting your girlfriend perform drive-bys on rival gangs.

Once you've completed (or failed) the activity, you'll drive the girl back home. If the date went well, the Relationship meter will rise and you may even be asked inside for "coffee". If the date was a failure, the Relationship meter will lower. A successful date will add 5% to the Relationship meter, while a successful date that concludes in "coffee" will bump it up by 10%. Alternatively, a failed date will lower the Relationship meter by 5%.

If you're looking to add a few extra points to the Relationship meter while on a date, CJ can also give his girlfriends gifts and kiss them. There are three gifts to find in San Andreas, with players able to pick up flowers, dild*s or vibrators around the map.

Once on a date, face your girlfriend with a gift selected in your inventory. Press the L1 / LB / TAB button when prompted and a short cutscene will play where CJ presents them the gift. Once out of the cinematic, press L1 / LB / TAB again to kiss your girlfriend. This will give a small boost to the date's score.

Away from dates, girls will ring CJ if he hasn't seen them in a while. If he continues to ignore them, the Relationship meter will deplete, so you'll have to make sure you stop in regularly.

It's worth building up relationships as they net CJ some useful rewards. Most girlfriends will offer a unique perk once you begin dating them. After their Relationship meter hits 50%, they'll also give you a set of keys to their car, which can be found in front of their house. Finally, at 100%, they'll offer a unique outfit centred around their profession or interests.

If a girlfriend dies, they'll be dead for good, so it's worth saving before going on a date. Love interests have a lot of health, so you shouldn't worry too much, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

How to Date Denise

The first girlfriend you'll run into in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is Denise. CJ meets her during the Burning Desire mission, saving her from a burning building and driving her back to her house. Following the mission, she'll ask the protagonist whether he wants to meet up again, prompting the pair to date. She lives just down the road from Grove Street.

Seeing as Denise is the first girlfriend in the game, she acts as something of a tutorial for the romance mechanic and isn't picky about CJ's appearance or the activities she does with him. During driving dates, take her around the streets by her house. If you cross either of the bridges and head towards East Los Santos, her happiness will drop, so make sure to keep it local.

She has a special date type, asking CJ to join her in performing drive-bys. She'll mention it as you're driving to date locations, leaning out of the window to shoot members of rival gangs. If she kills enough gang members, it will count as a good date and you can take her home early.

As for her rewards, you won't get any perks for dating Denise. However, when the Relationship meter is at 50%, she'll give you the keys to her Hustler. When it reaches 100%, you'll receive the pimp outfit. Take a look at the table below for Denise's preferences:

How to Date Katie

One of the two optional girlfriends found in San Fierro, you can run into Katie while she's doing yoga in Avispa Country Club. If you need any help finding her, she's just up the hill to the left of the entrance to San Fierro's Cobra Martial Arts Gym. If you're muscular enough, she'll ask you out, allowing you to pick her up at her house by Gant Bridge.

The main things to remember with Katie are that she loves diners and hates driving fast. As for where to take her on driving missions, the easiest solution seems to be Gant Bridge. For those who don't know where Gant Bridge is, you'll be able to see it when picking Katie up as it's just to the left of her house. It's Rockstar's riff on the Golden Gate Bridge, so it shouldn't be too hard to spot.

When you get the driving activity, slowly drive over the bridge and back. By the time you return, the fun meter should be filled.

As for the rewards Katie provides, you'll get an array of paramedic-themed gifts. Beginning a relationship with the character nets you arguably the best girlfriend perk in the game, giving you discounted hospital fees and the ability to retain all weapons when you die. When you raise Katie's Relationship meter to 50%, she'll give you the keys to her Romero. Meanwhile, maxing out her Relationship meter will net CJ the Medic Uniform. Here are Katie's preferences:

How to Date Michelle

The second optional San Fierro love interest, you can find Michelle inside the city's driving school. She'll ask CJ out if he's overweight, inviting him to pick her up from her auto-shop.

When taking Michelle out on driving dates, CJ will have to drive as fast as possible in one of several spots scattered throughout San Fierro. One of the best to head to is Doherty, with the area offering a lot of space to drive quickly and build up Michelle's fun meter. If you need help tracking Doherty down, it's the same area that CJ's auto-shop is in.

That being said, Michelle will probably spend more time behind the wheel during your driving dates than you will, with her special activity cropping up frequently. After picking Michelle up, she'll likely ask to drive, shifting CJ into the passenger seat so she can take the wheel. She'll then drive around for a few minutes before returning to the auto shop and ending the date. The only way to fail this special activity is to bail out the car while Michelle's driving.

As for the rewards, Michelle's perk allows you to get a free Pay 'n' Spray at her garage. When the Relationship meter hits 50%, she'll also give you the keys to her monster truck. Finally, maxing out the meter gives CJ access to the racing suit. For additional details on dating Michelle, here's a quick breakdown of her preferences:

How to Date Barbara

After you leave San Fierro and head to the desert, CJ will be able to seek out another optional love interest. Located outside the El Quebrados police station, Barbara will approach CJ if he's overweight and ask if he wants to start dating her. You'll pick Barbara up from the police station when you want to go on dates with her.

Barbara's favourite places to go are diners and she'll want CJ to drive at a standard speed when on driving dates. Luckily, she loves driving around El Quebrados, so if you get the driving activity, simply head around the small town in circles until the fun meter is filled.

If she asks to go out dancing, it's probably better to revert to a save before the date and try to get a different activity. The closest club to Barbara is in Las Venturas, which is a long and time-consuming drive. Seeing as there's a diner around the corner and the driving date is in her hometown, there are much quicker options to max out her Relationship meter.

Barbara's rewards mostly surround her job as a cop, with CJ losing less money and retaining all weapons when busted. When the Relationship meter hits 50%, he'll also get the keys to her police Ranger. After maxing out the Relationship meter, CJ will receive the cop outfit. Here's a closer look at Barbara's preferences:

How to Date Millie

The second girlfriend you'll run into during San Andreas' story campaign, Millie's Relationship meter is arguably the easiest to max out in the game. You'll meet her during the optional Key to Her Heart mission, with CJ and Millie agreeing to date once the level is complete. You'll need to raise her Relationship level to 35% to continue on to the next part of the heist mission chain. Luckily, it's easy to crank the meter up quickly.

Millie loves restaurants and is happy driving at a standard speed around her neighbourhood. She also lives close to Las Venturas' club, with her house sitting on the outskirts of the city. However, those wanting to max out her relationship ASAP should rely heavily on her special date activity.

Arriving at Millie's house wearing the gimp suit acquired during the Key to Her Heart mission will immediately result in Millie inviting CJ in for "coffee." That means you can snag a 10% increase in the Relationship meter without having to take Millie on a date. Once the interaction is over, CJ will change into the clothes he was wearing prior to donning the gimp suit, so you won't even have to head home to change.

As for the casino worker's rewards, Millie's slightly different to the other girlfriends on the list. Much like Denise, she doesn't offer CJ any perks. She also doesn't gift a special outfit after maxing out the Relationship meter, with the gimp costume counting as her gift.

However, once the stat reaches 35%, she'll give CJ the keycard needed to proceed with the heist mission chain. She'll also give him the keys to her pink Club at 50%. Here's a breakdown of Millie's preferences:

How to Date Helena

The final girlfriend CJ can meet in his travels is Helena. You'll find her shooting targets on the rooftop of Blueberry's Ammu-Nation. Out of the six girlfriends, Helena's Relationship stat is arguably the hardest to max, with the lawyer requiring a skinny CJ with high sex appeal before asking him to go out on a date. If you've maxed out CJ's Muscle stat but are set on dating Helena, you'll have to prevent the protagonist from eating until his Muscle meter depletes.

Once Helena is interested in CJ, you'll be able to drop by her farmhouse and take her on dates. She loves restaurants and CJ driving her around her farm at a standard speed, so she isn't too difficult to please. That being said, it's worth noting that completing activities with her can be time-consuming due to the secluded location of her home.

The gifts you get in return mostly crux around her farmer lifestyle. Her perk unlocks the shed in front of her house, giving CJ access to the various weapons inside. At 50%, you will get the keys to Helena's Bandito. Finally, at 100%, she'll give you the rural outfit. Here's a closer look at Helena's preferences.

Looking for help on other optional activities? Check out IGN's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Side-Mission section, or head over to the How-To Guide page for more handy tips and tricks.