What Is a Situationship?
A situationship is a romantic or sexual relationship that exists without clear labels or defined commitment. You're more than friends, less than a couple, and if anyone asks "what are you guys?" you both freeze like deer in headlights.
It's the "we're just vibing" zone. The "I don't want to put a label on it" territory. The undefined, unlabeled, ambiguous connection that somehow has all the intensity of a relationship without any of the security. Fun!
Where Did It Come From?
The word has been used since at least the mid-2010s, but it really blew up on TikTok and Twitter around 2020-2022. Dating culture shifted dramatically with apps like Tinder and Hinge — suddenly you could be talking to multiple people, and the old framework of "dating → exclusive → relationship" got murky.
Situationships became SO common that they needed a name. And honestly, naming it was therapeutic for a lot of people who were stuck in one and didn't have the language to describe their suffering.
How to Use Situationship
- Describing yours: "We've been in a situationship for 6 months. Yes, I'm in pain."
- Advice: "Girl, that's not a relationship, that's a situationship. Run."
- Memes: "Me to my situationship: so what are we? Him: 👁️👄👁️"
Examples in the Wild
"the worst part about a situationship ending is you can't even say you got dumped. you just got... discontinued."
"situationship culture is crying over someone you never technically dated"
Why It Matters
Situationships are the defining dating experience of this generation. In a culture that values independence and fears vulnerability, the situationship is what happens when two people like each other but nobody wants to be the first to say it. It's a whole mood — and not a good one. If you're in one, bestie, have the conversation. You deserve clarity.