Couple forced to defend relationship after TikTok of girlfriend surprising boyfriend sparks ‘red flag’ debate’

A TikToker who surprised her boyfriend at college has been forced to defend their relationship after viewers claimed his reaction was a red flag – and now her boyfriend has also spoken out.

TikToker @laurenzarras uploaded a video of her unexpectedly turning up to see her boyfriend at an apartment where he was hanging out with six friends on a sofa. 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 32.8m million views and 3 million likes. While some thought it was sweet, scores of viewers left comments claiming that the boyfriend appeared unhappy to see his girlfriend.

The TikToker has already responded to the negative comments in a string of follow-up videos and urged viewers to “please think” before “assuming anything about my relationship.”

Now, as a result of the viral storm surrounding the TikTok, Lauren’s boyfriend has shared his thoughts on the thousands of people accusing him of being a “red flag.”

Posting on an account @souljawatchambassador the boyfriend, who has dubbed himself as “couch guy”, pans the camera to the now-infamous sofa where the viral video took place.

“Couch guy here,” his message began, as he joked: “Ur welcome for getting u off of berries & cream TikTok...”

He continues: “...but remember: Not everything is true crime. Don’t be a parasocial creep. Go get some fresh air. Take care.”

The boyfriend then turns camera around to show his face and give a thumbs up. He added in the caption: “I love @laurenzarras , she’s the best.”

So far, his reaction has been viewed nearly 700,000 times. But, as predicted, people still aren’t convinced.

One person wrote: “Yes king, you can pull this off, gaslight her and us.”

“‘She’s the best’ bro that is the worst thing you could say,” another person said.

Someone else replied: “The minimal effort put into defending her too.”

After Lauren posted the initial video, many speculated that her boyfriend had not been excited to see her.

One comment with 364,000 likes read: “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.

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.”

But it didn’t stop the discussion. Several TikTokers stitched the video, giving their thoughts on her boyfriend’s reaction:

Some people, meanwhile, called for the “hate” to stop:

Later, in a follow-up video, Lauren 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 were “driving her crazy” over the phone comment, and showed 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.”

Then, in another 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.”

Regardless of how much she and her boyfriend try 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.

Bit, 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.