A Texas woman’s job search is stirring up some unexpectedly awkward feelings.
Rylie Jouett, from Austin, has gone viral on TikTok for claiming a man she ghosted six years ago was due to interview her for a barista position at an undisclosed company.
Ghosting is, of course, the unfortunate dating phenomenon where a potential partner vanishes into thin air without explanation post-rendezvous.
“Karma is the nastiest b**ch I ever met bc (because) six years ago when I was 19 I ghosted the nicest guy who had the best intentions for me & tell me why he’s the person that’s interviewing me for a job that I desperately need tomorrow,” the 25-year-old wrote in the clip, which has gained over 8.4 million views since it was posted last week.
Jouett told the New York Post she didn’t expect to receive so many views – or so much backlash, which she attributes to the six-second clip “landing in front of the wrong audience on TikTok”.
“Based on the analytics of my video, 80 per cent of the viewers were teenagers,” she said.
Jouett made two follow-up videos to address viewer comments, alleging in one that her former flame told her it might be “awkward” to interview her. She dismissed his concerns, saying they “kissed once six years ago on a date”.
While Jouett claimed she and the unidentified man are now both happily in other relationships, she admitted to previously ghosting him because he was “obsessed” with her and “very intense”.
“I made the video because I felt like a lot of people could relate to ghosting people as a teenager without thinking about the consequences of being immature and having poor communication skills,” Jouett told the Post on Tuesday.
Many commenters suggested she shouldn’t discuss the interview process publicly if she wants to land the job.
“Babes, it’s a f***ing barista job. Do you think that I give a sh*t?” Jouett shot back.
“For $9 an hour plus tips? Like be serious right now. It’s not like I’m working for f***ing Elon Musk.”
“What is concerning is that this man is a Scorpio, so I just know he holds grudges,” she added.
Other TikTok users helped Jouett prep for her potentially awkward interview.
“Just make sure you don’t say one of your strengths is communication,” one advised.
“Gaslight him, ‘that never happened’,” another recommended.
Even the official TikTok account chimed in: “Good luck sis.”
And even more, TikTokers refused to believe the pair shouldn’t try to rekindle their spark.
“Karma or second chance???” one hopeless romantic asked about the odds of the couple reconnecting.
“Maybe it’s not karma but cupid,” one person wondered.
“Plot of a rom-com,” another declared. “If he invites you to the company retreat this weekend to see how you fit in, but really so he can get to know you again, let us know.”
Jouett told the Post she ultimately declined the job offer.
“He did offer me the barista position at the end of our interview. I ended up turning the offer down because I got offered a higher-paying position somewhere else,” she revealed.
“He never responded to my message declining the offer. As far as I’m aware, he hasn’t seen the video.”
But plenty of other people did see the clip, with Jouett noting the number of teenagers who tuned in.
“This makes a lot of sense when looking at the thousands of comments saying that they hope I never find a job, become homeless, & saying the only job I’ll ever be able to do is sex work & to ‘be prepared to get on my knees’,” she told the Post.
“There’s so many horrible things I’ve had to read and report on my own video.”
– With the New York Post