Massachusetts is a beautiful place to build a life — but when it comes to couple culture, I’m not impressed. Everywhere I look, relationships feel more like a performance than something real. And if I’m being honest, the whole “relationship aesthetic” in this state is overrated.

I watch how people move out here, and too many couples are trying to look flashy instead of actually building something meaningful. It’s all about image — the matching outfits, the Instagram posts, the fake “power couple” vibes. But behind the scenes? Most of it is surface-level energy with no real depth.

Another thing I notice is how dependent people become. Folks act like they can’t function unless they’re paired up. They’re not building independence, not building discipline, not building themselves. They’re just relying on someone else to fill the void — and then calling it love.

Add in the ego, and it gets even worse. There’s this show-off mentality, like being in a couple automatically means you’re “winning.” But the truth is, if you strip away the luxury cars, the apartment photos, or the “look at us” TikToks, a lot of these relationships don’t have a foundation at all.

And that’s exactly why I think couple culture in Massachusetts is overrated:

It’s loud, it’s flashy, it’s performative, and it’s built on appearance over connection.

Real relationships aren’t built for the feed. They’re built in silence, through work, through honesty, through growth. I don’t see enough of that out here. What I see instead is a lot of people trying to look like the perfect couple instead of doing the work to actually be one.

Until people stop chasing validation and start choosing authenticity, couple culture in Massachusetts is always going to feel shallow to me.