Once upon a time (in July), a video <\/strong>of Rachel Zegler discussing her new role of Snow White in a September 2022 red-carpet interview<\/a> went viral \u2014 and it didn\u2019t go over so well. <\/strong>Zegler\u2019s quotes about the modernized plot, in which Snow White is not fantasizing about romance, were met with annoyance, memes, and plenty of ~grumpy~ all-caps comments. The main gripe of these critics: namely, what\u2019s wrong with wanting love?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s no longer 1937, and we absolutely wrote a Snow White that is not gonna be saved by the prince … and she\u2019s not gonna be dreaming about true love. She\u2019s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be,\u201d <\/strong>Zegler told Variety<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ten months later, the implication \u2014 that \u201cdreaming about true love\u201d is pass\u00e9 \u2014 was torn apart on Twitter<\/a> and TikTok. \u201cI\u2019m an empowered woman and am gonna lead said empowered life but I LOVE DREAMING OF TRUE LOVE<\/a>!\u201d one TikTok account said. \u201cThey\u2019re like the two paths for a woman [are] finding your soul mate<\/a> or starting a small business,\u201d another commented. As more accounts took issue with Zegler\u2019s words, they came to a new consensus: There\u2019s power in being a romantic. TikToker Megan Cruz put it this way: \u201cI personally cannot wait for this super reductive,<\/a> girlboss feminism to die out.\u201d<\/p>\n While the super-independent, don\u2019t-need-no-man archetype is a powerful one, it can also be isolating. As one TikToker wrote, \u201cIt creates this dichotomy<\/a> of \u2018you can be a girlboss or a pathetic SAHM [stay-at-home mom]. NO middle ground\u2019 like why not have both love and autonomy??\u201d<\/p>\n But people weren\u2019t always in their lover era \u2014 and the sentiment wasn\u2019t exclusive to Zegler, either. In February 2019, Call Her Daddy <\/em>gave the controversial advice of \u201ccheat or be cheated on<\/a>.\u201d That summer, Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s \u201cHot Girl Summer\u201d inspired people to embrace the fun of being single. Then, in November 2022, Emily Ratajkowski proudly declared the start of her post-divorce \u201cb*tch era<\/a>,\u201d encouraging people to be \u201ca little more pissed off<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n So, it\u2019s no wonder Zegler\u2019s comment initially flew under the radar. At the time, nobody felt the need to defend the pursuit of love. But thanks to swoony, Norah-Ephron-coded celebrity relationships and the rom-com revival, the tides have since changed.<\/p>\n By the middle of the summer of 2023 \u2014 a time when women came out in droves to celebrate their femininity at concerts and movies<\/a> and all over TikTok <\/strong>\u2014 a new, softer approach to life and love had taken over. \u201cTake my hand, close your eyes, now feel\u201d wasn\u2019t just a viral TikTok sound<\/a> or Barbie <\/em>movie <\/em>quote; it became a mantra for a gentler way of interacting with the world. <\/p>\n Around that time, Travis Kelce won over Taylor Swift,<\/a> bringing the power of a good love story back to the forefront of pop culture. From their friendship bracelet beginning in July to their post-Eras show kiss in November, Tayvis\u2019 love story has all the makings of a romance novel, and even romance novelist Tessa Bailey<\/a> said so. \u201cTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce<\/a> love stories [sic] is very Hallmark movie coded and classic romcom book coded,\u201d one fan of the couple tweeted in December. \u201cAnd I AM EATING IT UP.\u201d<\/p>\n Like the cultural vanguard she\u2019s proven to be, Swift is driving this trend onward <\/strong>with her public romance, helping usher in a new era where falling in love is something to be proud of. One fan wrote on Twitter, \u201ci want a relationship like travis and taylor<\/a>. they\u2019re the IT couple.\u201d Another tweeted, \u201cI WANT A LOVE STORY LIKE TRAVIS AND TAYLOR<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Serena Kerrigan, creator and founder of Let\u2019s F*cking Date<\/a>, has marketed her dating life since 2020, turning it into a successful brand all about confidence (and card-playing). But her expletive-filled mantras took on a softer note when she announced her relationship<\/a> in July. \u201cWhen we see Taylor \u2014 a billionaire \u2014 so in love with her partner, she\u2019s telling us it\u2019s OK to have both,\u201d Kerrigan tells Elite Daily. \u201cYou can be a baddie and change the world, and you can also want a guy who opens the door for you.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s beautiful to see this woman who is quite literally on top of the world fall in love, and then watch them giddily show up for each other.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s also <\/strong>something to be said for the timing of this relationship: at the height of Swift\u2019s career. \u201cBecause we’ve established ourselves as these bad b*tch women that make a f*ck ton of money and are passionate about our careers, lives, friendships, etc., we can invite love in,\u201d Kerrigan adds. TL;DR: Once you know that love is not all you need (and your relationship status isn\u2019t your only measure of success), it opens you up to wanting romance for pleasure rather than necessity.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a trend that Kerrigan noticed at her November live shows, too \u2014 successful women going to <\/strong>her to talk about seeking relationships, not raises. \u201cI was taken aback by how many times the \u2018I want a partner\u2019 question came up,\u201d Kerrigan says. \u201cMaybe because we’ve become financially independent and career-oriented, we crave that romance more. Or maybe we’re allowing ourselves to be honest about it, realizing that it’s not a weak point.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley Hesseltine<\/a>, co-host of the dating podcast Girls Gotta Eat<\/em><\/a>, isn\u2019t sure that pop culture acts as a deciding factor in people\u2019s dating lives. Still, she says that Swift and Kelce are certainly setting an example. \u201cWhen it comes to Taylor and Travis (a relationship I\u2019m obsessed with, for the record), I think it\u2019s beautiful to see this woman who is quite literally on top of the world fall in love, and then watch them giddily show up for each other and not give a f*ck who sees their joy in this relationship,\u201d Hesseltine tells Elite Daily.<\/p>\n Swift and Kelce aren\u2019t the only celebrity couple to adopt this mindset. Alyssa Amoroso<\/a>, a former entertainment publicist turned pop culture and PR commentator, has noticed other threads of this trend. <\/strong>\u201cWe’ve seen a rise in the \u2018lover girl\u2019 or \u2018lover boy\u2019 era on social media,\u201d Amoroso, who hosts the Tea With Publyssity <\/em>podcast<\/a>, tells Elite Daily. \u201cJust this week Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco went public with their relationship<\/a>. It\u2019s another example of someone in the spotlight unapologetically claiming their love for another person.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes are another loved-up couple who embraced the spotlight this year. Their romance specifically has been met with enthusiasm (and envy). \u201cMy unrealistic expectations for romance<\/a> and love come from Chase Stokes kissing Kelsea Ballerini for the first time and then saying \u2018thank god you\u2019re real,\u2019\u201d one fan tweeted, referring to Ballerini\u2019s November Call Her Daddy <\/em>episode<\/a>, where she explained the story of how they met. <\/p>\n Shipping famous couples \u2014 both real-life and fictional \u2014 isn\u2019t a new pastime, but 2023 saw a renewed interest in these public love stories, where the appeal of the romance plot outweighs the allure of the characters individually. Think: TJ Holmes and Amy Robach (yes, even a scandal can turn kinda swoon-worthy), Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse<\/a> (ft. her baby bump), Queen Charlotte<\/em>\u2019s Charlotte and George, Never Have I Ever<\/em>\u2019s Ben and Devi, <\/em>and The Buccaneer<\/em>\u2019s Mabel and Honoria.<\/p>\n Reinvented Snow White <\/em>aside, the much-awaited rom-com revival is in full swing now too, with Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney\u2019s <\/a>Anyone But You<\/a> <\/em>premiering on Dec. 22. <\/em><\/strong>Their extremely flirtatious press tour<\/a> only made the return of romance clearer. (One fan commented on their chemistry-laden photos together, \u201cTHIS is how you promote a rom-com movie!<\/a>!!\u201d) Plus, in November, the rom-com queen herself Meg Ryan made her return to the genre with What Happens Later<\/em>. <\/p>\n But <\/strong>this I-love-love trend hardly means that singleness is on its way out. \u201cI will never tell anyone it\u2019s not cool or trendy to be single,\u201d Hesseltine says. \u201cThe times in your life when you\u2019re single and focusing on yourself are so important to figure out who you are and what you want \u2014 and ultimately, leading you to love.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe this new lover era is less about the rising appeal of relationships and more about setting a higher standard for love in your life \u2014 the kind of romance that inspired Swift to change the lyrics to \u201cKarma\u201d in Kelce\u2019s honor. Of course, it\u2019s fine if your version of a grand gesture does not involve a record-breaking stadium tour.<\/p>\n![\"Tweet](\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2023\/12\/12\/d5f52e85-3614-401a-8e51-e2df2badd676-screen-shot-2023-12-12-at-121422-pm.png?w=1320&h=339&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format%2Ccompress)
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