‘New couch guy just dropped‘: TikTok of man’s reaction to girlfriend surprising him with birthday party sparks debate
In early October, the "couch guy" phenomenon swept TikTok after footage of a woman's attempt to surprise her long-distance boyfriend went viral.
The boyfriend's less-than-thrilled reaction to her arrival inspired days of "couch guy" jokes, several parodies, and led to a slew of TikToks analyzing the video's every frame to determine if his suspected infidelity could be proved. It dominated TikTok's For You Pages for more than a week, securing itself a position as one of TikTok's most unexpected crazes.
Thankfully, for the hordes of Couch Guy fans out there, the saga continues. While Lauren and Robbie, the original couple, are keeping out of the spotlight, for now, a new couple has taken center stage. And the alleged odd vibes in the new video are bringing back fond memories for former Couch Guy fans.
The fresh video isn't actually all that new: it was posted to user @sydniarnett's page on Oct. 5. But it only recently gained the attention of the internet at large, leading the clip to rocket to popularity in just a few short hours. It is currently teetering on the verge of 10 million views, with dozens of comments from viewers who can't help but detect alleged Couch Guy vibes in the reaction Sydni's boyfriend, Mike, has to her carefully planned birthday party.
The 30-second video opens with a note, via text overlay, that Sydni threw her "boyfriend, Michael, a 'Mike' themed surprise 30th." Leaning into the same uplifting audio that the original Couch Guy video sported—Ellie Goulding's "Still Falling For You"—the clip sees Michael enter a lovely game room packed with his friends. He sports a casually pleased smile and a single red solo cup as he saunters in, before stopping halfway through the room to soak up his friends' adulation.
After a beat, Sydni comes bouncing over to greet him. He appears to stiffen slightly as she throws her arms around his neck but does embrace her in return. The video ends just after Sydni reveals her flawless "Mike" costume—a full, light green bodysuit sporting Mike Wazowski from Monster's Inc's single eye and pointed teeth on its hood.
Commenters immediately dubbed Michael the "new couch guy" and began littering Sydni's comment section with jokes, references, sympathy, and plenty of red flags. Numerous people fixated on Michael's reaction, and asked Sydni "does he know you?"
"This guy walked so couch guy could slowly stand up," one user joked.
Other viewers, between celebrating that "WE HAVE A NEW COUCH GUY," pointed out how thoroughly uninspired Michael seems by the whole affair.
"This is how I'd walk into a surprise party I specifically said I didn't want," one person observed. They weren't the only one to think so, with several other commenters pointing out that "the vibe is off in this one too."
"He gave her a break up themed reaction," another person joked.
A number of commenters fixated on the song, which has been played to absolute death in the wake of the original Couch Guy video. They dubbed the song "cursed" and noted that they have "ptsd from this song and couch boy."
The consensus seems to be that TikTok surprises aren't typically the best move for a relationship. And for the love of everything, avoid using "Still Falling For You" to soundtrack your next pseudo-romantic video.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sydni via her website.
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