The TikTok Texas couple refers to a creator named Jillian Lavin, or @spritelynotthesoda, who shared the story of her devastating breakup—in song! The TikTok video she made got posted on X, formerly Twitter, and soon everyone was weighing in on her story and whether or not she or her ex-boyfriend were in the wrong.
What happened to the Texas TikTok couple and why'd they break up?
According to Jillian’s song, she had been dating a guy in Los Angeles for three years when he told her he wanted to move back to Texas to be closer to his dad, who was in poor health. She decided to go with him. Whether or not she was invited is not covered in the tune, which has become a point of contention in the discourse about it.
Jillian packed up their apartment, said goodbye to her improv troupe, gave up a chunk of her work, and went with him. She spent a lot of money setting up their new place, buying furniture, and depleting her savings. Her boyfriend returned from a family vacation she did not go on, and then handed her a note saying they weren't compatible. Spritely ended up moving back home to live with her mom in Florida.
What is the response to Jillian's story?
Early responders to the story were firmly on Jillian's side. The general consensus was that one should never drain one's resources on behalf of a man, ESPECIALLY if you're not married. But realistically, there's no way to know if marriage will save you from deception either.
There were also a lot of people who condemned the boyfriend for not breaking up with her firmly and clearly before she did all this work to get him from Point A to Point B.
But as time went on, interest in the story led to more investigations into Jillian and her long-term relationship. Some people noted in older media she posted that her boyfriend never treated her all that well and she should have seen the writing on the wall.
Others suggested that she may be co-dependent and he was avoidant, meaning when he said he was going to move to Texas, he was planning to end things that way, and she didn't take the hint.
To be fair to Jillian, there were a lot of moments for him to clarify he wanted to go to Texas alone between announcing his attention to move and watching her pack all her stuff into a van.
Other debatable points about the Texas TikTok couple
A side conversation that popped up was Jillian's mention of her improv troupe. Some people took this as an obvious sign that there's something wrong with HER and her ex was saving himself.
Others more reasonably pointed out that she mentioned the troupe because it was a group of people she had a social relationship with who cared about her enough to throw her a going away party.
And she chimed in with her perspective on the improv troupe and why it was important.
What has Spritely had to say about the response?
Well, it's not easy to suddenly feel the hot eye of the internet burn into you, going through your history and dreams and life and deciding whether or not you're worthy of love. But she seems to be taking an "all press is good press" approach to the attention and sharing her story on X.
She has also shared some updates on the situation and even defended her ex. Which naturally has people blaming her even more.
Whatever went down privately in this relationship, the public is only getting the smallest glimpse of it set to a catchy tune. May everyone involved only grow in positive directions, musically and otherwise. Especially since everyone is so fascinated by it.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jillian and will update if she responds.
