Or some other term of endearment? For me, it comes across as condescending and infantilizing. The only way these terms wouldn’t bother me would be if they were coming from an older woman or from someone I’m very close to.

P.S. In this instance, the word “darling” was tacked on to the end of a sentence that was meant to convey reassurance.

In an ideal world I suppose terms of endearment wouldn’t be used as put-downs, but in the world we live in they are absolutely sometimes used to express contempt and that you see someone as inferior. I find them especially off-putting coming from someone I met on a dating app who I have yet to meet in person or even speak to on the phone (even then it would still be weird, though).