‘Shrekking’ Trend in Dating World: Why People Are Choosing ‘Ugly’ Partners and What It Means for Modern Love and Relationships!
Most of the time, in the dating scenes, people often choose partners solely based on looks and attraction, which naturally sets them up for failure. When you don’t have a common interest or don’t really take time to know the person, you might miss major red flags.
Your dating experiences may pretty much be the same, but the relationship lingos and trends have evolved more than love itself. With a new experience comes a new dating term and this time, it’s Shrekking that is losing people’s minds. They say that Shrek is love, but some people in the dating world are taking this literally. Credit goes to the new dating term ‘Shrekking,’ which essentially means settling for someone less attractive than you in the hope that they will be grateful and, in turn, treat you well. Heinous, right? It’s about this idea of dating down, which reduces romance to a superficial metrics system. However, the question remains – is choosing ‘ugly’ partners improving modern love? Ghostlighting, the Alarming New Dating Trend Worse Than Ghosting! Signs To Watch Out For If a ‘Ghostlighter’ Tries To Undermine You.
What Is Shrekking?
Most of the time, in the dating scenes, people often choose partners solely based on looks and attraction, which naturally sets them up for failure. When you don’t have a common interest or don’t really take time to know the person, you might miss major red flags. However, some people are prioritising the right things, such as personality, life goals, morals and values. This brings us to the most discussed dating topic on the internet right now – Shrekking. As a dating term, ‘Shrekking’ refers to being with someone you consider below your standards, with the assumption that because you are out of this person’s league, you will automatically have the upper hand in the relationship. It’s about the idea that if the person you are with is less valuable than you, either in terms of looks, intelligence or even earnings, then you are guaranteed to be treated well by them out of sheer gratitude. What Is Chameleoning? All About the New Gen Z Dating Term You Might Be Unknowingly Living.
In simple words, they are lucky that you picked them. Hence, they will treat you right and you will never be hurt again. Rude! Putting yourself on a pedestal above your suitor will only increase the chances of creating unfair dynamics and assumptions.
Do You Agree?
Strategy Or Avoidance?
To get ‘Shrekked’ is to strategically ‘date down’ only to end up getting rejected, heartbroken or screwed over by someone you deemed inferior. As TikTokers explain, “We all have been there.” First of all, if someone has to disappoint you, they will. It doesn’t matter whether you date down or up. Secondly, superficial factors such as looks, income, age and more, influence who we are attracted to. While there is nothing wrong with that. But real connections go deeper. The modern dating frustrations are valid. However, if someone finds themselves coming out in unflattering attempts to put others down, that might backfire.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2025 02:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).