A TikToker who surprised her boyfriend at college has been forced to defend their relationship after viewers claimed his reaction was a red flag.
TikToker @laurenzarras uploaded a video of her surprising her boyfriend at an apartment where he was hanging out with six friends. When he sees her he starts smiling and doubles over before getting up and giving her a hug. Since it was posted, the video has garnered almost 17 million views and 1.8 million likes.
The TikToker was excited to see her boyfriend, but some of her audience didn’t seem so convinced.
One comment with 364,000 likes reads: “Bro is on the couch with three other girls.”
Another user whose comment racked up 8,000 likes wrote: “I’ve never seen someone so unhappy to see their girlfriend.”
Others slammed him for not getting up immediately, with some pointing out that the girl sitting next to him seemed to scoot over once she entered the room.
@laurenzarras robbie had no idea
Several people also commented saying they believe they spotted the girl beside him “sneakily” giving him back his phone.
Not all of the comments criticised the relationship however, with one user writing: “All the girls in the comments talking about him sitting with other girls is giving me not secure in their own relationship vibes lol.”
Another user said: “Y’all need to realise that loyal men exist and confidence woman exists aswell. Ya’ll jus’ showing your own insecurity in the comments.” [sic]
The TikToker replied to several comments defending her relationship before pinning a response reading: “Breaks my heart that people can watch a special moment and bring so much negativity. Please think before you assume anything about my relationship.”
In a second comment, she added: “As for the phone comment, his phone was in his lap. Thanks for the concerns though! And no I’m not in denial.”
Several TikTokers stitched the video giving their thoughts on her boyfriend’s reaction:
@ghostlyjayyy #stitch with @laurenzarras #greenscreen analyze before you make your decision
@maysunbabe #stitch with @laurenzarras I cannot explain to u how invested in this video I am #fyp #foryoupage #foryou
Some people called for the “hate” to stop:
@renegademike #stitch with @laurenzarras STOP the hate
In a follow-up video, she replied to a comment reading: “Am I tripping or did the girl hand him his phone under his arm as she walked in? His face says it all.”
She said people are “driving her crazy” over the phone comment, and shows a frame-by-frame view of him with the phone in his hand.
She also said she knows all the girls in the room and “they are all so nice.”
She added: “These comments are just getting ridiculous and I don’t know why you guys are assuming so much about our relationship. I’m so happy and we’ve been doing distance for over a year now. My boyfriend and I are literally obsessed with each other and are in contact with each other every minute of the day.”
Although she seemed to have dispelled the phone theory, the top comment with 97,000 likes reads: “BRUH… I remember being this naive.”
In her latest video, she seemed to take aim at the relentless commenters by posting an audio snippet where Kourtney Kardashian tells her sister Kim to “mind her business.”
@laurenzarras i thought this sound was very appropriate
Regardless of how much she tries to defend their relationship, some commenters don’t seem to be letting it go. Although you can draw subjective conclusions based on someone’s perceived body language, it is a little harsh to criticise someone else’s love life based on an innocuous 19-second video.
If things do end up going south and she wants to break up with him, we know just the guy who can help her out.
UPDATE: Her boyfriend has now responded to the criticism.