• Fans emulate the couples they admire and buy into the fantasy celebrities create
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Psychologist Kezia Wanjau has cautioned the public against the negative effects of using celebrities as couple goals.
For years, a few couples have been accused of setting unrealistic standards for young people who go into relationships expecting to be treated the way the couple handle each other.
From expensive trips, lavish birthday gifts to unrealistic romantic gestures that are normally staged for the camera, to magical proposals, celebrity couples are relationship goals.
"Fans tend to emulate the couples they admire and buy into the fantasy that celebrities create," Kezia said.
"This doesn’t always work because real life is not a TV show. Couples face real issues that cannot be solved with the tools they learn from fictional content that’s created for entertainment."
The divorce of Bill and Melinda gates was one such case that left many wondering: if these two can break up, what chance does a normal couple have at staying together?
Kezia says modern relationships are facing many modern problems and celebrity is just one of them.
"Social media has made it worse because famous people are modeling a certain lifestyle 24-7, and with the breakdown of the family structure, most of our young people were literally being brought up by their phones."
She recommends that society adopt therapy to help them cope with the modern hurdles that are facing relationships.
"We need to deal with our issues before they start dealing with us. Sweeping things under the rug doesn’t help things in the long run."