About

Shrekking is a slang term describing the act of lowering your dating standards and going out with someone that you find unattractive in the hopes that they will treat you well, which notably references the character Shrek. Getting Shrekked is a related term describing the act of still getting hurt or feeling disappointed by the person for whom you lowered your standards. The term was popularized in August 2025 on TikTok by the person who seemingly coined it, TikToker @jaxitodwyer. It inspired discourse in early September 2025, with some describing the trend as toxic and hurtful. The term is considered by some to be a forced meme due to how it was mainly pushed and started by its creator, rather than organic usage (similar to the term cheugy in 2021).

Origin

On August 7th, 2025, TikToker^[1] @jaxitodwyer posted a video in which he claims that every pretty woman he knows has been traumatized by someone who either looks like Shrek or Lord Farquaad, garnering over 779,000 views in a month.

August 8th, the same TikToker^[2] posted a video defining the term "Shrek'd," claiming that it's a new term going around, defined as the act of getting traumatized by someone who looks like Shrek or Farquaad, garnering over 795,000 views in a month. However, the term did not seem to be "going around" at the time.

Spread

The trend and slang slowly spread on TikTok throughout August 2025 as people copycatted TikToker@jaxitodwyer's video and it garnered media coverage.^[8]

For example, on August 9th, 2025, TikToker^[3] @thisiswhyimsingle2024 posted a video sharing the same information as @jaxitodwyer, garnering around 9,000 views in a month.

On August 21st, USA Today^[4] published an article on "Shrekking," describing it as a new Gen Z dating term, directly linking to @thisiswhyimsingle2024's video as an example. The article features a quote from dating coach Amy Chan, who is quoted as saying:

Plenty of people have put looks lower on the list or hoped attraction would grow over time, and that in itself isn’t a bad thing. Where it backfires is when someone assumes that just because they’re dating "down" in looks, they’ll automatically be treated better.

On August 22nd, 2025, Primetimer^[5] reported on it, followed by LADBible^[6] on August 31st, who titled the piece, "‘Shrekking’ is the new dating trend that’s actually an insult to you."

On September 1st, TikToker^[7] @trevonwoodburyy posted a video about Shrekking, claiming he's done it before and that the partners are always "terrible," garnering over 60,000 views in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References