‘She’s not some rando stalker’: TikTok has a new ‘Couch Guy,’ and it’s even worse than the original
TikTok rang in the New Year with a new “Couch Guy.” This time, a man’s reaction to his girlfriend surprising him was so terrible that TikTok users even falsely accused the woman of being a stalker.
In 2021, Robert McCoy was christened “Couch Guy” after a video went viral of his less-than-enthusiastic reaction to his long-distance girlfriend surprising him at college. His girlfriend, Lauren Zarras, filmed the surprise and paired it with Ellie Goulding’s “Still Falling For You.” While viewers expected a cute movie-esque reunion scene as she entered the dorm with her suitcase, their eyebrows likely raised when she walked in on her boyfriend sitting on a couch with three other women. Viewers were further amused when one of the women stealthily handed his phone back to him under his arm. It’s only when his girlfriend starts moving forward, and he secretly gets his phone back, that he finally gets up to hug her.
The video instantly went viral and sparked many parodies. However, it also sparked some extreme speculation as many accused him, without evidence, of being unfaithful. Looking back on the video, it seems far less serious than people made it out to be at the time. Still, like many viral videos of men that have garnered scrutiny, it stirred some positive conversations stressing the importance of little things in a relationship, including whether someone acts pleased or nervous when their partner thoughtfully tries to surprise them. Now, though, the first Couch Guy looks almost like a green flag compared to the new Couch Guy.
Couch Guy 2.0 has arrived
In a now-deleted video by a user who goes by Carleigh B, a woman is caught on camera surprising her boyfriend on New Year’s Eve. Unlike the original Couch Guy video, the pair weren’t in a long-distance relationship. He simply thought she was working when she decided to surprise him at a NYE party he attended. Hence, no one expected a very extreme surprise reaction, as a mere happy acknowledgment that she made it to the party would be typical. Instead, the man had a very perplexing reaction.
The video sees the woman come down a staircase behind her boyfriend. Before he sees her, the man is smiling and talking with those around him. However, when he turns around and spots her, the smile instantly melts off his face, and his brow furrows. Instead of looking pleased, he looks absolutely terrified to see her. While she smiles and laughs, he begins scanning the room with a vacant look on his face. The woman steps forward to hug him at which point he appears to push her away before the camera cuts.
The video instantly went viral, sparking many reshares, stitches, and reactions. Pop Chisme reshared the original, writing, “… who is gonna tell her that he is couch guy 2.0?” While many takes arose comparing him to Couch Guy and speculating on his bizarre reaction, some also began trying to steer the blame toward the woman. He looked so genuinely horrified to see the woman that users began claiming she was actually a stalker who randomly showed up at the party and filmed his reaction. A video posted by @angelwearsblack1989 garnered 3 million views in which she wrote, “He looked at her in sheer horror like she’s a stalker and he didn’t wanna make a scene … Like is he ok.”
Sadly, since the internet is always eager to accuse women of wrongdoing, many users ran away with the theory, declaring she was a stalker in the comments of any video criticizing the man’s reaction. However, one TikTok user found and screenshotted their relationship status on Facebook, which was public, and confirmed they’d been dating since November. The woman emphasized, “She’s not some rando stalker.”
Many other theories arose, including that the man might have been at the party with someone else, which is why he appeared so terrified and was scanning the room. Some even claimed he might be secretly married, and his wife was in the room.
Again, it’s impossible to know the reason for his reaction. Perhaps this truly is another “Couch Guy” situation where users read too much into what was a nonserious moment. At the same time, it’s understandable why users would be concerned about how seemingly upset the man was that his girlfriend surprised him. The saddest thing about the situation was how the internet was so eager to paint her as the villain. Users falsely called her a stalker and abuser or insisted she crossed some kind of boundary. However, all she did was drop in on a New Year’s Eve party, which she was likely invited to since someone in the crowd knew about the surprise and was filming for her. It’s not like she showed up somewhere she wasn’t welcome or randomly burst into a boy’s night out.
No woman should ever feel like she’s not allowed to surprise her boyfriend at a holiday party or while he’s at university for fear that he and the internet will treat her like she’s obsessive and in the wrong. It shouldn’t be hard at all for someone to express genuine pleasure that their partner got out of work to go out with them or went out of their way to travel hundreds of miles to see them. If they genuinely can’t muster a pleasant reaction, it likely says more about them than the person who staged the well-intentioned surprise.
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