From sloppy to stylish: TikTok's 'girlfriend effect' show women really make men look hotter

We've all heard that being in a relationship makes people gain weight, but did you know it can actually make men hotter?

A new trend on TikTok, popularly known as the "girlfriend effect", claims just that. Here's all you need to know about it.

The girlfriend effect

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It has emerged as a trend on popular short video format application TikTok. The so-called girlfriend effect apparently comes with hard proof.

Women have been posting videos of their boyfriends' glow ups, which they take the credit for.

Will being in a relationship turn me into Tom Cruise?

Well, no. Being in a relationship will not turn you into Tom Cruise (or the hottest man you can think of), but it is an undeniable fact that women do tend to "help" or push their partners into dressing better.

As the New York Post puts it, "Women step in and help men find a style and look that suits them, and suddenly they look hotter."

Is it all good?

Every coin has two sides and, as some users have pointed out, even the 'girlfriend effect' has its negatives.

As per LADbible, many TikTokers have expressed concern that the trend is potentially depersonalising men's wardrobe. What it means is that caught up in a relationship, men may be potentially losing what makes them... them.

One user @velveteenrabbit, in a now viral video, explained that women unintentionally risked "overhauling their boyfriends and completely redesigning them".

"If this woman is helping him find a more tasteful way of executing his personal style, that's one thing. But a lot of women are not doing that," said the user, adding that "they are just purely telling their boyfriends what to wear and getting rid of any sort of personal style that these boys have accumulated for themselves."

Videos on the girlfriend effect have taken over TikTok and you may even find some on X, Facebook and Instagram.

This has so sparked a counter trend called the 'boyfriend air' in which women share photos of themselves looking dishevelled, "less put together", and spending less time looking after themselves.

(With inputs from agencies)

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