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Topics: TikTok, Sex and Relationships
Gerrard Kaonga
A relationship expert has addressed a new growing trend on TikTok and explained the many issues that it can cause for real couples.
While social media is full of trends and ‘advice’ on basically everything, not everything is as useful as it might appear on screen.
This can be particularly true of relationship advice, as it can often avoid getting to the true issues between a couple.
One such trend is the 'loyalty test', which a relationship expert has denounced after some creators have started doing it on social media for a few simple reasons.
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The test sees people online paying strangers to attempt to bait other people’s partners to see if they would cheat, entertain or reject a person.
If they ‘fail’, their partner will catch them in the act, in some cases resulting in arguments and the eventual separation of the couple.
Liam Turnball, a relationship expert at TDM Agency, spoke to the Mirror about the growing trend and broke down the many issues with it.
He warned that not only did it not truly test loyalty, but it could also spark further issues down the line, regardless of whether the partner succeeds or fails the test.
He insisted the test was rooted in insecurity, and ultimately, if you were considering tricking or trapping your partner based on suspicions you already have, it would be better to take a step back and address them rather than join with a viral social media trend.
He said: “[Even] if your partner passes the test and shuts it down immediately, you've still violated a boundary.
“If you feel the need to trap your partner to prove something, the relationship is already in trouble."
Turnball went on to say that he has spoken to couples who have done the test and now struggle to trust one another, regardless of the result.
He added: "I've seen people come into therapy who now struggle to trust their partner again, even after they passed the loyalty test.
"Why? Because once you plant that seed of doubt, it's very hard to unpick it. The person doing the testing becomes more paranoid, and the one being tested feels betrayed.”
Instead of doing all of this for 'content creation’, the relationship expert insisted it was important to step away and self-assess.
He argued that people in a relationship need to have ‘mature, vulnerable conversations with their partner’ to address issues.
He concluded: “Relying on a loyalty test to feel secure, it's time to step back and ask why and whether this relationship is giving you the emotional safety you actually need."