A recent TikTok trend called the “Weekend Lover” has come across our desks called the and we need to talk about this.

I know that I have mentioned before that hookup culture is a very real thing. This is just proof of that toxicity:

Gen Z women are shamelessly admitting to being the ‘weekend lovers’ of men who will happily hook up with them — but who won’t give them the time of day outside Saturday night.

In one of the worst new TikTok trends, young women are posting melancholy videos of themselves to the tune of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” as he sings, “I never wanted to be your weekend lover.”

Some are sharing insulting texts from men and posting surreptitious photos of their hookup partners’ backs as they sleep. Others share videos of themselves taking a walk of shame.”-Rikki Schlott, The New York Post

Allegedly wrecking Gen-Z relationships? Allegedly?

In a world of putting oneself out there on social media for all to see, this is the epitome of desperation. Women who broadcast their hook ups as a “fact of life” and not low self-esteem. Women who are seemingly okay with being the weekend side-piece. Women who say the guy they begged to hang out with have gotten their names wrong on text messages before, who will still gladly oblige and be the weekend lover because they think they cannot have any one or any thing else.

The weekend lover trend on TikTok is so sad . These people deserve to be loved out loud .

— Mickey Walke (@MickeyWalk3yb6) January 11, 2026

There is a sad side-effect of this weekend lover trend, too…

This weekend lover trend on TikTok is exactly why I believe women should cheat

— Alimatu FB (@Alimatu_FB) January 10, 2026

I had a long conversation with my son, who is currently on a college campus doing life, this weekend. As far as the dating pool goes, he calls it “feral”. He shared with me that he dated a girl for a brief few weeks last semester who he learned (before getting too involved) slept with another guy for cocaine. He had other guys tell him to “go for it anyway” because “she’s hot”. He did not. He started seeing another girl who has since foregone hanging out with him for the nightly party scene. He has been at parties and has seen, firsthand, how some guys treat women and doesn’t want to be that nor does he want to be involved in that toxicity. Yes, there are guys who are jerks all over the place and just looking for that Saturday hookup. Some of these girls know that and have now decided to play the same game. The hookups, the mind games and the dysfunction are all VERY real.

The situationship dynamic — stuck somewhere between a hookup and a relationship — so common on campuses and in twentysomething life is eating away at young women.

One TikTokker even said that her weekend lover blocks her phone number until the weekend, complaining about having a ‘green message bubble until Friday.’

There are a few voices of common sense encouraging girls to to advocate for themselves — or just stop participating in — relationships that don’t satisfy their needs.”-Rikki Schlott, The New York Post

The “green message bubble” is commonly known as “On Devlivered”-which is a curse in the dating world of Gen-Z.

This wanton lust on college campuses is very real. It’s the first time, for many young people, that they are out of their parents’ houses, making their own decisions. I do believe that no woman should be blatantly discarded. And, girls, listen up. It’s time you stood up for yourselves. But I also believe that when the game is reversed because “that’s just the way guys are”, that these young women are not doing themselves any favors.

My son is a good-looking guy, and a smart one at that. He is the total package. He is healthy and fit and can out-bench any frat guy on the row, and has spoken candidly about his experiences on a college campus thus far. He says women are incredulous to find that he doesn’t want to just sleep with them because “all the other guys are like that”. Admittedly, he is like this out of sheer self-preservation sometimes; knowing increased intimacy has other consequences like feelings and attachment. He’s got a graduate program ahead of him and does not want or need any distractions. He knows he is one weekend short of wrecking his life and progress and chooses to move about the space at the occasional weekend party-unattached.

Sadly, the “Weekend Lover” trend is just one symptom of the ailing human condition. Young people are conditioned, as early as the elementary and middle school years by “influencers” with less than stellar morals on how to be commodities. This continues into high school and college with “pick me” culture. Putting it all out there for everyone to see is “empowering”.

We live in a world where people’s lives, feelings and emotions are disposable. If you don’t like your body, take a few weekly shots and change it. Go to a surgeon to alter it. If you don’t like something your spouse does, divorce is easy. Trade up for a “better model”. If you’re not feeling maternal, kill the life that is living inside of you. People have become disposable. “Weekend Lover” is another callous illustration of hurting human hearts.

As we work for the weekend, let’s talk to our Gen Z men and women. They need to hold their heads high and a good dose of their dignity back.

Photo Credit: anokarina from United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons/Cropped