In the days before the internet and mobile, matchmaking involves meeting people in person, to then judge that person, and later decide whether there would be a second date.
Fast forward, the internet and mobile have helped many find their match, without having to even meet in person. All it takes, is a little bit of patient, and an astounding profile.
Those are what 'West Elm Caleb' at least has.
Unknown to dozens of women, this person is a serial dater.
After dating one woman he targeted, he then ghosted her. The man then disappeared without a trace, hunting for his next female victims.
West Elm Caleb's name goes viral, when one of the women took it to TikTok to share her experience with the man.
In the world that has seen the #MeToo movement, this kind of post is a real magnet for virality.
It all started when a TikTok user identified as Mimi Shou posted a TikTok about dating a man named West Elm Caleb.
Shou who works as a jewelry designer, said that she had gone on an amazing first date with a tall man named Caleb and then never heard from him again.
Through the video, she advised viewers to watch for signs of people who are not looking for genuine relationships.
Quickly, the post went viral, as more and more women came up to share that they have experienced the same thing.
About 20 women found that they were all ghosted by West Elm Caleb.
All of them claimed to have received "lovebombing" flirtatious messages before eventually being ghosted after several weeks dating.
In short, this West Elm Caleb has become somewhat of a mascot for the dreadful realities of online dating.
It was later realized that West Elm Caleb operates a number of accounts, and had profiles describing himself as a 25-year-old 6-foot-4 furniture designer at West Elm, thus, the "West Elm Caleb" moniker was born.
The women who were tricked by West Elm Caleb, shared that the man wanted to decorate their place, with some said that the man's first words were: "Marry me."
By seeing others experiencing the same thing, some then realized that West Elm Caleb had sent them the same word-for-word messages as he sent to other women, and made identical Spotify playlists under different names to send to multiple women.
At least two of the commenters said he promised to name a couch after them.
The virality was then fueled to become larger, as women of New York City came together to unmask the serial dater.
What followed was the women doing their private investigation into West Elm Caleb's life, leaking screenshots of his dating profiles, some of his conversations, as well as his alleged LinkedIn page.
The story of the investigation was shared as the sisterhood between dozens of women in New York City claimed to have dated the mysterious man.
Even those people who hadn't dated Caleb or even heard of his name before the TikTok video got involved and shared their stories.
So many people got excited to solve the puzzle, the case felt like a game. While the goal may or may not be to dox West Elm Caleb, the case went viral because women were telling the same story about a man who hurt them.
And because identifying this villain is "fun", the story highlights issues with modern dating culture and online amateur sleuthing.
The women who had bad experiences with West Elm Caleb appear to be glad that TikTok has offered them a way to warn other women about him.
But at the same time, this comes at the cost of Caleb's privacy.
And what follows is inevitable. As the story spread, people started flooding the comment section by accusing West Elm Caleb of rape, despite none of the women he dated ever mentioned that kind of sexual assault.
While there are no abuse allegations, it should be noted that West Elm Caleb did allegedly send unsolicited nudes to more than one woman, in which he sent photos of his penis.
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