As the weather cools down, the urge to find someone to cozy up with can get stronger. But are you dating because you genuinely like someone, or because you don’t want to be alone? Let’s talk about navigating cuffing season without lowering your standards or settling for the wrong person.
Michelle greets viewers and explains she's a dating coach who will discuss cuffing season. This brief intro sets up the livestream's purpose.
Michelle defines cuffing season, mentions uncertain origins, and lists why people feel pressure to couple up (colder weather, holidays, cozy media). This chapter helps viewers understand the phenomenon and its cultural drivers.
She notes why cuffing season isn't all bad — dating apps get busier and people settle into more intentional dating after summer. Viewers learn reasons cuffing season can help kickstart connections.
Michelle warns that pressure to pair up can lead to settling, moving too fast, ignoring red flags, or staying in situationships. This section highlights pitfalls to watch for while dating in this period.
She encourages viewers to take control by asking about their intentions, being transparent (e.g., seasonal vs long-term), and checking if loneliness is driving choices. These actionable prompts help avoid impulsive decisions.
Michelle frames the impulse as partly evolutionary but reassures singles they aren't behind, urging them to make plans, build traditions, and continue dating intentionally rather than from panic. She stresses choosing partners for fit, not fear.
She wraps up by reiterating that cuffing season is understandable but avoid settling, offers her social handles for follow-up, and urges self-reflection as a way to grow and date with intention. The livestream ends with a friendly sign-off.
Hi cadre, I am Michelle. Welcome to my live stream. I am a dating coach from Unstuck by Michelle and I am here today to talk about cuffing season. Now, if you've never heard the term cuffing season, you're like, what is this? What is this thing that Michelle is talking about? I was trying to look up the origins of cuffing season today and I couldn't find any. It's like there's a rap song from the 90s that mentioned, but we don't know who came up with cuffing season in regard to dating. So cuffing season, if you're not familiar with it, it is that time of the year when people feel this kind of sense of Like they need to be in a relationship, right?
Like they feel more motivated to find a romantic partner. And there's lots of reasons for that. It is starting to get cold outside, right? The holidays are right around the corner. There's all those Hallmark love stories coming out. All those Christmas stories, right? A lot of the times we're inside a little more. It's soup season. Right? All of those things often can lead people to want to be cuffed up with someone, right? To be coupled up with somebody. And so sometimes people who are single feel a lot of pressure around this time of year to partner up, right?
Partner up to stay warm when it's cold, partner up before the holidays. And so I'm here to talk about that today because as much as it is Just like kind of a silly term, cuffing season, there is it's based in some reality. It is. It is darker outside. It's 630 and it's dark outside. I got up at 630 and it was dark outside. So we are inside more. And again, this idea that we want to get with people, couple up, all that stuff. So let's talk about the goods and the bads and all the things around cuffing season.
And hi, Kathy. I see you. It's not a bad thing, right? Dating apps are usually a little more popping right now. People are a little more active with dating, like people were having like their hot girl summer or traveling a lot in the summer or doing lots of things, like people are kind of settling in. So there can be a lot of more people intentionally dating right now. So cuffing season is not all bad, right? It's not like, watch out, don't date, it's cuffing season. It's be mindful, it's cuffing season.
And the mindfulness is more about yourself. So some potential downfalls to cupping season, cupping, cuffing season is that people can settle. People can be feeling this pressure to couple up so they can settle, they can move too quickly, ignore red flags, hang on to situationships. Situationships, that's another dating lingo, is exactly that. It is someone who's getting like boyfriend, girlfriend, benefits, but they're not willing to commit to you, right? They're someone who shows up on the weekend, they're gone during the week, right?
They're not someone that they would take you to a wedding, but they want to see you Friday night. You know what I'm saying? But during cuffing season, you might hang on to that situationship a little too long, right? And the reality is, is like that sense of loneliness that can happen as it gets darker outside and all that can, like I said, it can make us like ignore red flags. And the reality is, like I said, is that you have full control over what you do. You have full control over what you do.
So just being mindful when you're dating, if you're dating during this season of change, this cuffing season, you just ask yourself, what is my intention here? Right? If you're just wanting to hook up and be with someone for the winter, you better say that to people. Just be transparent and then let them decide if they're down for that. But ask yourself, am I tolerating this person's poor behavior because I'm lonely? Am I ignoring these glaringly obvious red flags because I really want someone around for the holidays?
Am I moving too quickly because I really want to secure this relationship? And so checking in with yourself, asking yourself those questions can be a really great way to help navigate this season of dating. And those are honestly great questions that you can ask yourself all the time, right? And be honest with the other person, like to ask them like, what are you looking for? Are you looking for a long-term partnership? Are you looking for something fun? Are you looking something just for the season?
Like it's okay just to be bold and to put that out there. And something to remember, like this is like a societal pressure, like maybe even this Evolutionary. I think evolution, right? Because if you think caveman back in the day, it gets cold. What do you want to do? Cuddle up, right? So we have this desire, but also like if you are single through the fall, through the winter, you're not behind. It just is, right? You don't need to be coupled up simply because everyone else seems to be doing it.
Make plans with your friends, try new activities, create new traditions. If you want a relationship, continue dating intentionally instead of dating out of panic, right? I'm going to say that again. If you want a relationship, continue dating intentionally, not out of panic, okay? That is so important. I already told you why. When we date out of panic, we often get in these toxic or these just unhealthy relationships and that's just not your person, right? And so you want to be intentional. Being single during the winter is temporary.
Getting into the wrong relationship just to avoid being single can cost you a lot more than a few nights on the couch by yourself. So basically, cuffing season can be a fun time to meet someone and to build connection. There's nothing wrong with wanting companionship in a relationship when the weather gets cold. Just make sure that you are choosing somebody because they're right for you. not because you're afraid to be alone. You deserve a relationship that works every season, not just in the winter.
With that being said, another thing to ask yourself is, am I dating this person? Would I still want to date this person in June? I'm having fun with this person. Would I still want to have fun with this person in July? So asking yourself those questions, right? Because also like you want to be a good person and you want to, I'm assuming you want to be a good person. You want to be intentional. You don't want to hurt someone's feelings. So if you're dating someone just to have a plus one for the holidays, like that's not fair to the other person.
Right. And so also, like I mentioned earlier, still be honest with people with where you're at. But that, you guys, that my friends is cuffing season, this desire to couple up. And again, you don't have to and you're not a loser and you're not behind if you don't. So that's all I got for tonight, guys. If you have any questions, if you want to connect, if you want to chat, anything dating, again, I am Michelle. You can chat with me on Instagram at Unstuck By Michelle. You can chat with me on TikTok at Unstuck By Michelle, but you should follow, like, share.
Kathy, you said scary questions, mindful questions. Yeah, sometimes it's scary to self-reflect, man. It's better not knowing sometimes, right? So I'm avoiding my dermatologist appointment. I don't want to know about these moles. I don't want to go. But when we have to do the hard things, we have to ask ourselves these questions. We have to reflect. That is how we grow. That is how we learn. That is how we date with intention. So Y'all have a lovely Thursday night. I can't wait to hear from you. Follow along if there's any topics you want to hear about.
Holler. Have a lovely night.
