u/Commercial-Can4805

Please don’t judge me because I already feel ridiculous writing this lol 🫠

There’s a couple from a reality show (think Love Island/The Circle type) who I became fascinated by because they seemed like such a random pairing. Then I saw more pics/videos of them together and somehow became obsessed. I like them both, but especially the girl… she’s ridiculously gorgeous, so that definitely contributes. 😂

They barely even post each other. They’ll occasionally drop a story, TikTok, or gushy comment, and somehow the lack of content has made me MORE obsessed. I’m constantly checking socials, analyzing reposts/comments, and looking for photos from other people. Basically doing social media detective work. 💀

I’m happily married and love my husband and kids, but life is pretty repetitive right now. I think this gives me novelty and dopamine. I also have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate hard once something grabs my brain.

I don’t want to stop following them, I genuinely enjoy them. I just want to get back to “oh cute!” instead of feeling compelled to check constantly or waiting for them to post.

Has anyone else hyperfixated on an actual person/couple like this? How did you dial it back without going cold turkey?

Please don’t call me a stalker 😂 I know it’s ridiculous, which is why I’m trying to break the habit.

Please don’t judge me because I already feel ridiculous writing this lol 🫠

There’s a couple from a reality show (think Love Island/The Circle type) who I became fascinated by because they seemed like such a random pairing. Then I saw more pics/videos of them together and somehow became obsessed. I like them both, but especially the girl… she’s ridiculously gorgeous, so that definitely contributes. 😂

They barely even post each other. They’ll occasionally drop a story, TikTok, or gushy comment, and somehow the lack of content has made me MORE obsessed. I’m constantly checking socials, analyzing reposts/comments, and looking for photos from other people. Basically doing social media detective work. 💀

I’m happily married and love my husband and kids, but life is pretty repetitive right now. I think this gives me novelty and dopamine. I also have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate hard once something grabs my brain.

I don’t want to stop following them, I genuinely enjoy them. I just want to get back to “oh cute!” instead of feeling compelled to check constantly or waiting for them to post.

Has anyone else hyperfixated on an actual person/couple like this? How did you dial it back without going cold turkey?

Please don’t call me a stalker 😂 I know it’s ridiculous, which is why I’m trying to break the habit.

I’m genuinely so confused as to why I keep getting called ungrateful by both nMom and eDad.

They just insisted on hosting a gathering for my birthday this past weekend. I was hesitant because everything comes at a price but I obliged.

End of the weekend came around, I was told I “didn’t lift a finger” was “a princess” and “didn’t appreciate anything they did”. Important to note this was all said as rebuttal when I brought up something else (asked mom to please not comment on my weight).

Anyone else notice this pattern? I’m ungrateful because I won’t stand for verbal abuse? It’s fucking insane! Why do I keep falling into this trap of letting them do “nice things” for me just so they can throw it in my face when I’m not doing what they want?

Why is this a thing?

For context I am in my 30s and have relatively young kids and a very involved partner. Over a year ago, my friends and I planned a girls trip to go hiking and sightseeing. Accommodations and flights have been booked for ages. The weekend before the trip, nMom and eDad start guilting me about it, say I’m leaving my kids and putting “so much” on my (very capable) husband, how would I feel if he “did this”, etc. like wtf? It’s twisted how she exists to make me feel guilt and shame. It’s her goal and she won’t rest until I feel bad for enjoying anything that isn’t being a Tradwife and or mom. Even before kids, when I’d plan something like this the reaction was “that’s a waste of money” “who are you even going with” (as if I don’t have friends). nMom is extremely jealous of my social life and the fact that I’m well liked.

Anyone else’s nMom refuse to let them enjoy things?

I’ve been thinking about this lately and I’m curious what’s typical. My kids are 1.5 and 3, so shits busy af right now; and when we visit my parents I often feel like my mom expects me to handle 100% of the parenting (which I understand, they’re my kids), but also expects me to immediately clean up every single mess they make. If I ask for help, it sometimes feels like she’s bothered by it or like I’m asking too much.

She has some narcissistic tendencies, so I know that may be influencing how I perceive things, but it got me wondering: when you visit your parents with young kids, what level of help do you typically get?
Yesterday we had a bunch of guests over, and I realized I spent the entire time actively parenting: managing meals, messes, keeping the kids occupied, etc. I barely got to sit down, eat, or socialize. I wasn’t expecting my parents to take over, but I thought maybe there would be a bit more “grandparent help” so we could actually enjoy being there too.

What do your parents/grandparents usually do when you visit? Do they pitch in with meals, playing with the kids, cleanup, giving you a break… or is it more that you’re still fully “on duty” the whole time?

I’ve really only been keeping up with Brooks and Rae. Loved them both individually (especially Rae) and as a couple, so I’ve been really interested to see what they do next professionally.

Lately it’s been pretty quiet. They do the occasional live streams, but seem to have pulled back a lot on posting in general and posting each other, although from everything I’ve seen they still appear to be together.

What contestants are you still following? Who do you think is most likely to really take off career-wise over the next year or two?

I miss the weekly chats with yall 🥺❤️

This is honestly a bit embarrassing even to type out, so please go easy on me.

I recently started following a micro-influencer couple on TikTok who’ve been dating just a few months. Something about them just hooked me. I find myself checking for updates daily, watching their livestreams, even interacting in the chats. Sometimes they respond to me and it gives me this weird little dopamine hit.

I think I’ve kind of figured out why I’m so drawn in, which almost makes it worse. They remind me a lot of me and my husband when we first started dating about 10 years ago. Same age, same energy. It brings me back to a time that felt lighter and more exciting… Now I’m in a very different phase of life: marriage has been strained, we have kids, life feels repetitive and dull. Meanwhile, they’re out here living in NYC, no kids, fun jobs, just vibing. I know it’s curated, I know it’s not real life, but it still gets me.

So I guess this whole thing is filling some kind of void, which I’m already working on in therapy. But in the meantime, I still feel kind of addicted and obsessed with them and it’s starting to feel unhealthy/parasocial. I keep thinking how I’d actually be sad if they broke up or stopped posting! Has anyone else experienced this with influencers or online personalities? How do you actually break that cycle when you’re aware of what’s going on but still keep going back?

Again, I know this sounds ridiculous, but I’m not in the best place right now and would really appreciate some perspective. I don’t think cutting myself off from it entirely is the answer, but I also feel pretty obsessed so idk. Maybe I’m just looking for similar stories and people who can relate!

idk how to explain this properly but tiktok lives make me feel more parasocial with creators.

like when someone’s live and talking, answering comments, saying people’s usernames etc it starts to feel kinda personal? even though obviously this is the point and what they want.

and if it’s the same person/people you watch a lot, they start to feel weirdly familiar?? like you “know” them when you really don’t.

it’s not even a bad feeling, just kind of intense and a little strange. i can see how people get really invested without meaning to. there are a few people I’ve been watching who legit go live almost every night, and it’s like my brain waits for the stream to start lol

anyone else feel weird watching Lives?

We’re in our early 30s with 2 kids under 3. After we had the first baby, things were mostly good. He helped a lot with baby care, we had an “easy” baby so not a lot of sleep deprivation etc, things felt as good as they could be for postpartum. Got unexpectedly pregnant less than a year after having our first, so a very close age gap. Youngest is 1.5 now and things have really gone downhill. I feel like we don’t talk at all, and if we do, the conversation is boring or we’re arguing. I don’t feel like we share any similar interests anymore and sometimes feel like I’m entering some sort of midlife crisis. I’m wanting to glow up, go out with the girls, do things separately just to fill a void.

He doesn’t compliment me, doesn’t initiate anything in the bedroom and if we do sleep together it’s boring and feels like going through the motions. No one talks. We bicker over stupid shit. I have to ask for help with the kids every morning and evening, he’s very into just doing his own routine and has to be reminded of the kids needs. We both work and then weekends are a whirlwind of kids activities so we rarely spend time together. Date nights are nonexistent.

I would try counselling but what is there to even talk about? “He doesn’t help enough with the kids”? It just seems pointless. But at the same time I definitely do not want to separate and break up our young family, and don’t feel things are bad enough to get to that point, so I’m just in this weird purgatory where no one is happy but no one is going to change anything.

Help.

Look at his Instagram stories. He’s talking about Jessica Sanchez… and Chris brown… hacking his account? I’m so confused. He’s clearly VERY unwell. Someone help this man… or at least take away his phone

I believe the rule is anyone is eligible to try out again other than the winner. That said, I do think it would be weird for anyone who made it past like top 10 to try out again, because it could create an Arthur Gunn type situation lol

Who i’d personally like to see:

Cadence baker
Allegra miles
Makayla Phillips
Julia Davo
Lainey Grace
Grace Franklin
Alyssa Raghu (JK JK)
Hunter metts
Genevieve Heyward
Rae

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