A woman has revealed that she staged her apartment to appear as if she has a live-in boyfriend before meeting a male stranger for a furniture purchase.
The woman, who goes by the username @sulken on TikTok, shared the process in a video uploaded earlier this month, in which she can be seen placing items such as men’s shoes in her home as a precautionary measure.
“I have a stranger (male) coming over with a coffee table from Facebook Marketplace so I need to look like I don’t live alone,” the woman captioned the video.
In the clip, she can then be seen making adjustments to her home for her safety, which included placing a pair of men’s shoes in her front hallway, and setting up an iPad to play a video titled: “Boyfriend roleplay deep voice jealous boyfriend” from her bedroom.
The woman also staged her apartment with a men’s hoodie, which she strategically left on the couch, some boxing accessories, and a skateboard, which she placed by the front door.
The video has since been viewed more than 2.5m times, with viewers noting that the idea is useful while also acknowledging the realities of why women have to rely on the tactic when living alone.
“The fact that we have to think about this as women is so scary and sad,” one viewer wrote.
Another said: “The comments calling her paranoid are the same ones that victim-blame if something happened to her.”
“Living alone as a female is scary,” someone else added.
The video also prompted other viewers to share their own tips for precautionary measures when living alone, with many urging women to place a pair of men’s work boots outside of their door.
“Get a pair of old work boots with dirt on them from Goodwill and put them outside your apartment door,” one woman wrote.
While many viewers were supportive of the woman’s safety measure, others questioned why she didn’t meet the individual in a public space for the furniture purchase, with the TikTok user explaining in the comments that the table was too heavy for her to carry herself.
However, in a follow-up video, the woman noted that the guidance to meet in a public place while accompanied by a friend, or in the parking lot of a police station, was “sound advice,” before showing off the table she’d purchased.
