How Do TikTok’s ‘Delusionships’ Tap Into the Issue of Unrequited Love?

In some cases, a delusionship can refer to a relationship that isn’t rooted in reality at all. It describes “a dynamic where one partner is literally deluding themself about the status of the relationship,” said Jenn Kennedy, Ph.D., a licensed marriage and family therapist and the founder of the Pleasure Project and Riviera Therapy in Santa Barbara, California.

“They typically think the relationship is more important or the other person is more committed than what is actually happening,” Kennedy said.

It’s not just a case of your brain on hot people acting up.