Man defends woman's simple relationship expectations amid criticism of being 'unrealistic'

Navigating the world of dating presents its challenges, regardless of one's age. However, when 19-year-old Mia Ristaino—who goes by @miaristaino on TikTok—revealed she had a “30-page list of qualifications and standards” for her future person to meet, she received tons of criticism over it. There were many comments Ristaino, to lower her standards. However, a man named Santiago stitched a video on TikTok claiming that what she's asking for is just the bare minimum.

Santiago—who goes by @santiagothewiz on TikTok—decided to go through the woman's list for a potential partner as a reaction post to Ristaino's video. He says in the clip that people “are absolutely ripping this girl apart because whatever she’s asking for in the video is a little bit too much, so let’s go through the video and see what is too much for these guys.” It begins with Ristaino saying, “I’m 19 and I have never had a boyfriend but here are my standards.”

Ristaino explains that firstly she needs to be "attracted" to the person. Santiago’s face comes back on the screen, and he says, “Hey, number one, she has to be attracted to her partner. I know, how ridiculous of this girl to wanna be attracted to her partner, but I’m sure something more unreasonable is coming up through this video.”

Ristaino admitted that she used to be picky about height but now all that matters is that the person is taller than her. “I’m 5’4, so it’s not that hard but now, you just gotta have a good, strong jawline and a sweet-looking face,” she says, to which Santiago interjects, “Okay, so the guy needs to be above 5’5 and have a strong jawline? This is what we’re complaining about, guys? There are videos on TikTok where girls are asking for a guy who makes a billion dollars and is 7 foot 4 but this is what we’re getting upset about? Okay, maybe the video is gonna get more insane as we go on. Let’s see what else she asked for.”

Ristaino went on to say she's a sucker for a good smile, "I don’t know, it’s just, to me, it’s a really big deal. And you also have to like, look clean, I don’t know, hygiene is a huge thing for me. Must understand emotions, and I don’t care if you’re a little bit emotional, too.”

“Okay,” Santiago cuts in. “He needs to have a good smile, shower regularly, and, you know, understand emotions. Is something gonna happen that I’m supposed to be upset about here? I wanna be your best friend, and I want you to be my best friend,” she continues. “You have to match my obsession with the beach. Now, that one was totally uncalled for,” Santiago exclaims sarcastically. “She wants to have a friendship with her boyfriend, that’s ridiculous. And he has to have a common interest of hers, now this girl’s really getting unreasonable." She also added that she wants to take things slow and was looking for a person with “a very contagious laugh.”

Santiago criticized people who thought these were high standards and questioned why she was still single at 19 years old, stating "That’s literally a completely normal age to be single for, what do you expect her to do, have a relationship when she’s 4 years old?” He added, “I guarantee if you ask any of these guys what would you like your girlfriend to look like, they’d all give some absolutely ridiculous comparison of what they want their girlfriend to look like. This girl said that she wants her boyfriend to smile, take showers, and just be a happy person and guys are like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dude, what fantasy world are you living in?’”

Towards the end of his reaction video he had some kind words to the teenager, “Don’t take anything in the comment section seriously because that was one of the most basic and normal requirements I’ve ever heard a girl ask for their partner on this app ever. Good for you. I wish you the best of luck.”