We've all heard of unrequited love, but what happens when you form an infatuation or emotional bond with someone who doesn't know you exist?
That phenomenon has now been given a name and is what experts are calling a 'parasocial' relationship, and it was named as the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2025.
The 70-year-old term, which is suddenly trending again, relates to the perceived closeness and familiarity fans feel with their favourite influencers and celebrities and denotes cases when one person is emotionally invested in someone they have never met.
In a parasocial relationship, one side has zero idea of the other's identity and has no reciprocal feelings of emotional attachment.
So, who is forming these kinds of relationships and what dangers are involved with falling deeply for a famous person you're not likely to ever meet? I asked the experts on behalf of HELLO! readers to explain this new idea and outline the red flags.
What does it mean?
The term "parasocial" applies to "a relationship characterised by the one-sided, unreciprocated sense of intimacy felt by a viewer, fan, or follower for a well-known or prominent figure (typically a media celebrity), in which the follower or fan comes to feel (falsely) that they know the celebrity as a friend," according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
It was first coined by American sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl in 1956, who observed the behaviour of viewers after television became widely available and noted down the "illusion of intimacy" they began to develop with their favourite stars.
While these bonds are imaginary and not real, they feel real to the person experiencing them as they project challenges and feelings onto the famous person that mirrors their own everyday gripes.
Psychologist Gwenhwyfar Dunne-Henry explained to HELLO!: "A parasocial relationship is a one-way bond that feels two-way. The mind builds familiarity in the same way it does with people in your real life.
"When you see someone repeatedly, their face, their voice, their routines, your nervous system treats them as emotionally significant even though they have never met you.
"Your brain does not care that this person has never met you. Repetition creates emotional familiarity. It feels like intimacy without exposure and connection without emotional risk."
She continued: "A parasocial relationship gives you intimacy without vulnerability. This is why people slip into it so easily. It offers a sense of closeness that feels safe and predictable."
© Getty ImagesIs having a crush parasocial?
Circling back to that idea of an unrequited connection, we have all experienced a crush that was one-sided at some point in our lives.
Forming emotional bonds with someone who doesn't necessarily feel the same way is something I can relate to, as I'm sure many people can - but when does this just become a one-sided crush, and when does it evolve into a parasocial relationship?
Sofie Roos, a relationship therapist and author at Passionerad, highlighted: "In today's digital world, we can easily get into a grey zone, as you can have a crush on someone in your city that you have never actually interacted with, but still have seen in real life many times.
"This can feel parasocial as you’re building an image of the person built on the sides they choose to show [online] for people not interacting with them, but there’s still a chance that you actually get to know each other!"
She continued: "So to sum up, a crush on a celebrity is parasocial, a crush on someone you know is not, and crushing on someone you have met in real life but build an image of via socials is in the grey zone."
What the experts say about having a parasocial relationship
While fantasising about your most beloved celebrity seems fairly harmless, it can veer into slightly worrisome territory if you are attaching emotional weight to this imaginary connection you are harbouring in your mind.
Gwenhwyfar expressed: "Experts agree that these relationships have increased sharply because we now see more of strangers on our phones than we see of the people we love in person.
"Your brain is not designed for this level of voyeuristic intimacy. You watch how someone eats, reacts, cries and lives. You sit in the passenger seat of their life."
She added an explanation as to why parasocial relationships are becoming more and more common: "People today are overwhelmed by emotional labour and the pressure to perform constantly. A parasocial relationship is simple and safe.
"There is no conflict, no disappointment and no pressure. It delivers the feeling of intimacy without the emotional weight."
© Getty ImagesIs it a red flag if your partner is obsessed with social media?
The crux of a parasocial relationship is the false narrative aspect that permeates a person's reality, and the same thing happens if someone is obsessively scrolling on social media and digesting curated lives of influencers as facts about how the world really is and how every day should really be.
This can put a strain on relationships if one partner is chronically online while the other is living in the moment. It can create a false sense of reality and unrealistic expectations that are then projected onto the partner who is not online, causing conflict and friction to arise.
If you think your partner is obsessing over the world they are experiencing via apps like Instagram and TikTok, you may start to see it as a red flag when they demand the real world be as perfect and edited as the one on their screens.
Sofie weighed in and said: "To be online isn’t a red flag, but if it starts affecting the relationship negatively, it becomes one!
"It turns a red flag when they prioritise the phone over you, when they are extremely emotionally invested in influencers and online celebrities, sometimes even more than what they’re invested in your life, and if they start comparing you or your relationship to what they see online.
"If they use social media for affirmation, then that’s also a red flag. If they really thrive on likes, DMs and other forms of engagement, it’s a big risk that they are messing up their dopamine system, and that you won’t be able to give them that same feeling!"
How to address the problem and break the cycle
There are sure ways to break away from a parasocial relationship and to refocus your energy on the real world and the abundance of emotional bonds waiting to be claimed and discovered.
Start by muting the social media accounts of the personal you feel you might be in a parasocial relationship with and take a break from their content and active presence.
Set yourself a 30-minute daily online limit, and stick to it. Turn off your phone and stay away from social media apps once this time frame has elapsed.
Finally, if you do think you may be investing too much time in a fantasy about someone that doesn't know you exist, it may be time to have a look at how you are showing up in relationship and addressing your attachment style with the help of a relationship coach or therapist.
