How The Girlfriend In The Couch Guy TikTok Really Feels About The Drama
Having friends or outside parties run interference on your relationship is nerve racking enough. Now, imagine your relationship being picked apart by millions of strangers from a 19-second video. Lauren Zarras has been living this reality after her September 2021 TikTok, surprising her boyfriend Robbie while he was away at college, went viral. What was supposed to be a sweet #couplegoals moment quickly went south, and launched a massive TikTok debate that rivaled 2015's "the dress" phenomenon, per Slate.
TikTok's FYP exploded with theories, cheating allegations, slowed down replays, and reenactments of the infamous moment, and concerned followers weren't impressed by Robbie's (dubbed "Couch Guy" by the internet) lack of enthusiasm at his girlfriend's surprise pop in. Robbie responded in two follow-up TikToks and accused the internet of gaslighting him.
Insider examined why this brief interaction blew up so quickly with over 60 million views, and pointed to our fascination with true crime and solving mysteries. Though Zarras has denied all rumors and accusations about her relationship, her comments section still isn't convinced. Zarras spoke out about how all of the speculation has impacted her.
Lauren Zarras allegedly received death threats over her TikTok
During an October 5, 2021 appearance on the podcast "Tea with Publyssity," Lauren Zarras cleared the air and shared how this viral moment has impacted her mental health. Zarras told host Alyssa Amoroso that her inbox on Instagram is filled with harmful messages, including death threats. "That's just like disgusting to see and horrible because this situation could happen to anybody," she shared. "And I'm a positive person so of course I'm not going to listen to that but the fact that this could happen to anybody and people can say those awful things ... it's just horrible."
Zarras also shut down the cheating rumors and confirmed that her boyfriend's friends were in on the surprise. She debunked the "black hair tie" theory (via Vox) and confirmed that Robbie was wearing a magnetic bracelet she gifted him for Valentine's Day — not a woman's hair tie. Zarras is taking the comments and criticisms in stride, and hasn't let them stop her from posting more snippets of her relationship on TikTok.