Dating is hard enough in the era where traditional ways of meeting a romantic partner have been replaced by online dating. There’s no denying that it has some positives but online dating has its downside as well.

And, recently, some New York City women crossed paths with a man, who has now gained notoriety for being a ‘serial dater’. A coincidence led to several women discovering that they have been dating the same guy named Caleb and the hashtag “West Elm Caleb” went viral on TikTok. 

The man, who met these women on the dating site, allegedly ghosted them and treated them poorly. A TikTok user who goes by the name Mimi Shou posted a video to share that she was ghosted by a guy named Caleb. In no time, the comment section flooded with women asking her if she was referring to the infamous “West Elm Caleb”. Turns out she wasn’t. 

Although Mimi’s Caleb wasn’t the one gaining a bad reputation, she decided to dig deeper. When she posted a video warning women about this serial dater, TikToker Kate Glavan started getting tagged in Shou’s video. The latter had shared her experience about a date she went on with a man who sounded similar to “West Elm Caleb”. 

Eventually, multiple women DMed her and among them was TikTok user Kelly, who reached out with the help of Mimi Shou. The pieces started to fall into place when and these two women realised they were with Caleb on the same day, Kelly on Saturday morning and Glavan Saturday afternoon. 

Kelly saw in my video that my first date with Caleb was on Saturday. She woke up in Caleb’s bed on Saturday. She was with Caleb Saturday morning. Caleb and I went on a date at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The audacity of a straight white man with a f**king mustache! The audacity! 

-Kate Glavan

According to Today, several women on TikTok alleged that Caleb ghosted them after a few weeks of “love bombing” and also sent them unwanted nude photos. Kelly also shared that after six weeks of dating, he “randomly stopped texting” her. 

When the incident came into light, it promoted even more videos about “West Elm Caleb”. However, there are no details as to whether Caleb continues to be on dating apps or not. The whole episode has highlighted that it’s necessary to call out people for their toxic behaviour.