Start free trial

Measured Updated dailyMarkdown copy

Quote the cliché, then say no

A viral relationships and dating format on TikTok and Instagram

Open by quoting advice your niche repeats, then immediately reject it or ask what it actually means.

9

accounts it worked for

15x

median, times their usual

#5

of 55 in relationships and dating

Angle

Talking head

Why it works

Annabhamm, joeykidney, williamprea, lowkey_deep and livlawlove each start with a phrase the audience already uses to cope. Pushing back in the first seconds creates tension and gives them a fresh reframe.

Hook formula"[Popular cliché]" No. [What is actually true]

How to make it

  1. 1Quote the popular line on screen or aloud
  2. 2Reject it right away ('No.', 'That's bullshit', 'What does that even mean?')
  3. 3Replace it with the harder or kinder truth
  4. 4Back it with a short personal story or specific scenario

Examples

Best first, one per account. Each links to the original post.

  • @livlawlove

    10K followers, TikTok

    “you don’t need to stage your meet cute”

    49x their usual views, talking head, breakups

  • @pod.land7

    11K followers, TikTok

    “YOU SAID YOU WANTED A GOOD WOMAN… UNTIL SHE STARTED SPEAKING UP. 👀”

    25x their usual views, talking head, couples

  • @annabhamm

    65K followers, Instagram

    ““the right person will love you exactly as you are””

    18x their usual views, talking head, breakups

  • @corytalksnow

    72K followers, TikTok

    “If You’re Over 35 And Dating, We’re All Bringing The Same Thing To The Table: BAGGAGE. 🧳”

    18x their usual views, talking head, dating advice

  • @joeykidney

    1.3M followers, Instagram

    “Right person, wrong time”

    5.4x their usual views, talking head, breakups

  • @annahowerton_

    5K followers, Instagram

    “If you were to leave a relationship”

    15x their usual likes, talking head, couples

  • @phoenixpathway

    51K followers, TikTok

    “He doesn’t want to know you”

    7.1x their usual views, talking head, couples

  • @lowkey_deep

    115K followers, TikTok

    “5 most common reasons why people feel like they can’t go back to their ex”

    5.5x their usual views, talking head, breakups

  • @williamprea

    10K followers, TikTok

    “Just surrender it to the Lord.”

    3.1x their usual views, talking head, breakups

Your post here and want it removed? Email [email protected].

This is the preview. Start a free trial for the full library.

The full library has every post, format and hook in relationships and dating, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial.

Start a free trial

For AI agents

Start a free trial, add this MCP server to your agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex), then ask it for what’s working or make this request:

Get the MCP

More relationships and dating formats

What’s working in relationships and dating this week

How this is measured

  • Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
  • TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
  • A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
  • Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.