Man's bizarre reaction to his girlfriend's surprise on New Year's Eve ignites backlash online

With Christmas and New Year celebrations come surprise gifts and visits from friends and family. The past year was no different, as many people on the internet surprised their loved ones with unexpected gifts and visits and posted videos of the moments. However, not everyone received the reaction they had hoped for. A woman who decided to surprise her boyfriend on New Year's Eve is no exception. The boyfriend's reaction in a now-deleted video uploaded by Carleigh B—who goes by @carbar3—has gone viral and garnered the attention of many people on the internet. Creator Tess Higgins—who goes by @tessdhiggins on TikTok—compared the incident to the viral "Couch Guy" meme in her reaction video.

In the video, the girlfriend, dressed in party attire, surprised her boyfriend during a New Year's Eve party after telling him that she had to work that day. She entered from behind the man, and when he noticed her, instead of looking excited, he appeared increasingly red-faced. His reaction became more panicky with each passing moment. When the woman went to hug him, he gently pushed her away and stepped back. "New Couch Guy just dropped," Higgins wrote in the text overlay of the video. For context, a girlfriend had surprised her boyfriend, but he sat on the couch without reacting, per Slate.

"So, that push was kind of disturbing, right?" Higgins said. She understood that certain situations can be overwhelming, especially among long-distance partners. "The partner might actually be shocked, but this isn't one of those situations," she expressed. "This is more like, 'Oh, my girlfriend was supposed to be working on New Year's Eve, but now she is not.' Now, she is at the party. That's not something that should make you say, 'I can't believe my eyes'—to the point where you are just staring around the room, all red-faced and not responding at all."  

Higgins continued, "That would be a thing where, assuming you like your partner, you would say, 'Hell yeah, I thought you had to work! Amazing! How are you?'"

"Then he pushes her away? Come on. Your partner should be excited to see you. This isn't like she is crashing his private gym session or mediation or his weekend fishing with the boys," Higgins pointed out. "It is a New Year's Party. If I thought I wasn't going to be able to spend New Year's with my partner and then they showed up after all, I'd be excited," she pointed out. "Because, duh. This kind of gives me bad vibes," she concluded. People took to the comments section of the video to express their thoughts on the same.

@wry_zelle wrote, "The push when she went for a hug. Someone else was in the room he didn't want to hug her in front of." Another user commented, "Either she's his stalker, the side piece and his wife are at the party, or his side piece is in the room and doesn't know he has a girlfriend." @seasonsalt remarked, "They may very well be in a relationship but I don't think he was planning on being in a relationship that night."

You can follow Tess Higgins (@tessdhiggins) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.