Single women in New York City are taking to TikTok to warn others about a serial ghoster they’ve nicknamed the ‘West Elm Caleb.’
The man — who is described as a tall 25-year-old furniture designer for the home store West Elm who lives on the Upper East Side — is being accused of matching with women on Hinge, texting them ‘intensely’ with affectionate messages, and in some cases even going out on dates with them before suddenly disappearing.
While such bad dating behavior is, unfortunately, not particularly unusual, this man appears to make enough of a habit out of it that dozens of women he’s ditched have come together on social media to alert other women to steer clear.
Single women in New York City are taking to TikTok to warn others about a serial ghoster they’ve nicknamed ‘West Elm Caleb’
![The man is described as a tall 25-year-old furniture designer for the home store West Elm who lives on the Upper East Side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128079-10419355-s-m-49_1642625365834.jpg)
![The man is described as a tall 25-year-old furniture designer for the home store West Elm who lives on the Upper East Side](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128061-10419355-s-a-50_1642625370313.jpg)
The man is described as a tall 25-year-old furniture designer for the home store West Elm who lives on the Upper East Side
The social media drama began to unfold a week ago when a TikTok user shared a short, funny video about going out with a tall man named Caleb.
She wrote that he called it a ‘great first date’ and then disappeared when she tried to plan a second one.
The video earned quite a lot of attention, and the woman soon started getting comments and private messages from other women in New York City who wondered if she was talking about the same Caleb whom they had gone out with.
‘I kept having girls comments, being like, “Is this the West Elm Caleb?” And I’m like, “Who is this West Elm Caleb and why do you guys keep asking that? How do you all know this guy?”
She finally received a message from another woman who explained all about the West Elm Caleb, sharing her own experience with him.
The other woman told her that they had matched on Hinge and were ‘texting intensely for a while’ — and he was ‘love-bombing’ her even though they’d never even met.
![He's being accused of matching with women on Hinge, texting them 'intensely' with affectionate messages, and in some cases going out on dates with them before disappearing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128055-10419355-image-a-8_1642624059216.jpg)
He’s being accused of matching with women on Hinge, texting them ‘intensely’ with affectionate messages, and in some cases going out on dates with them before disappearing
‘Love-bombing is the gateway red flag to all the other red flags,’ said the TikToker, referring to the practice of showering a significant other with affection and loving words and actions as a way to ultimately manipulate them.
The woman messaging the TikToker said that after all of that, the West Elm Caleb suddenly ghosted her.
The TikToker ended up also getting a message from the man whom she’d later confirm to be the West Elm Caleb, though it doesn’t appear to have been the Caleb she went out with.
However, she continued to receive comments and messages from girls who had — and warned her followers that they might want to avoid him if they came across him on Hinge.
‘If that many girls are commenting about you on a TikTok, it doesn’t look good,’ she said.
The video went viral, earning a quarter of a million views — and soon other women were replying with their own stories of dating or texting with the West Elm Caleb.
![Soon other women, like Katie Pearce (pictured), were replying with their own stories of dating or texting with the West Elm Caleb](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128165-10419355-image-m-22_1642624311976.jpg)
Soon other women, like Katie Pearce (pictured), were replying with their own stories of dating or texting with the West Elm Caleb
One, Katie Pearce, said she matched with him on Hinge around Halloween and he was ‘love-bombing to a T, messaging, messaging.’
The KP & the City Podcast — Backseat Coach host invited him to meet her and her friends out on Halloween, but he replied that he preferred to meet ‘in a wholesome way’ and suggested coffee instead.’
‘Long story short, I am waiting on line at a bar and he sends me a full mirror selfie with his face and everything in it and his penis out,’ she said.
‘I was like, one, that’s very risky. Two, what the f***?’ she said. ‘And then the next day, he proceeds to ghost me.’
Yet a month later, she said, he messaged her again, saying he was afraid Katie was ‘gonna use him for his body.’
‘He’s texting me that girls see it, they see that it’s big and they don’t want anything else,’ said a baffled Katie. ‘I don’t even know what to say to that. Like, I know how it feels, welcome to being a woman.’
![Kell (pictured) recalled matching with Caleb on Hinge six weeks ago and what happened after](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128107-10419355-image-m-47_1642625326905.jpg)
Kell (pictured) recalled matching with Caleb on Hinge six weeks ago and what happened after
![It started off really sweet, she said, with Caleb sending her 'really cute messages'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128101-10419355-image-m-52_1642625497537.jpg)
It started off really sweet, she said, with Caleb sending her ‘really cute messages’
Caleb went on to add her on Snapchat — where he sent her another photo of his penis.
‘I texted him, “Are you absolutely out of your mind?” And then he ghosted me again,’ she said.
She concluded with a pair of screenshots of their text conversation, in which Caleb says his penis is ‘big and I just don’t know how to use it’ and that he worried Katie’s ‘expectation was coffee and a post-walk deep d***ing.’
Another woman, Kell, recalled matching with Caleb on Hinge six weeks ago.
‘It was cute because this was a man, like, “Oh, I really like him,”‘ she said. ‘This man was sending me really cute messages [like], “I have a really good feeling about you, I really like you.” This was before our first date.’
Caleb then sent her a Spotify playlist — which she found sweet until she noticed that he several of the same playlist on his account, all named for different women.
![Caleb then sent her a Spotify playlist — which she found sweet until she noticed that he several of the same playlist on his account, all named for different women](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128157-10419355-d-m-26_1642624349478.jpg)
![They went out and continued to date for a few weeks, texting every day, with Caleb 'blowing up her phone nonstop](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128159-10419355-d-a-27_1642624353152.jpg)
They went out and continued to date for a few weeks, texting every day, with Caleb ‘blowing up her phone nonstop
![Kell said that while she continued to see him, he would stop texting at certain points and started behaving strangely on dates - and she realizes now it's because he was dating other women, despite telling her that he had deleted Hinge](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128151-10419355-image-m-28_1642624358507.jpg)
![Now, she has warned other women: 'Just avoid him, maybe? Maybe somebody's a therapist, they can recommend themselves to him?'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128155-10419355-image-a-29_1642624364971.jpg)
Kell said that while she continued to see him, he would stop texting at certain points and started behaving strangely on dates – and she realizes now it’s because he was dating other women, despite telling her that he had deleted Hinge
She still gave him a shot, meeting him for a dinner date which went well — so they planned a second date at the Metropolitan Museum of art.
They continued to date for a few weeks, texting every day, with Caleb ‘blowing up her phone nonstop,’ telling her how much he liked her and couldn’t imagine his life without her.
At one point, according to screenshots of their texts, he even told her that he was ‘confident’ she would ‘ghost’ him, before adding: ‘I’ll ghost you soon, don’t worry.’
‘I thought it was a joke,’ Kell admitted. ‘Apparently not. Not a joke.’
Kell said that while she continued to see him, he would stop texting at certain points and started behaving strangely on dates — and she realizes now it’s because he was dating other women, despite telling her that he had deleted Hinge.
Now, she has warned other women: ‘Just avoid him, maybe? Maybe somebody’s a therapist, they can recommend themselves to him?’
![Quite a few other women who matched with him are sharing screenshots of their conversations](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128051-10419355-c-a-46_1642625317286.jpg)
![Quite a few other women who matched with him are sharing screenshots of their conversations](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128095-10419355-c-m-45_1642625312538.jpg)
Quite a few other women who matched with him are sharing screenshots of their conversations
![Most appear to have had negative experiences with the man](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53133447-10419355-d-m-43_1642625298678.jpg)
![Most appear to have had negative experiences with the man](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128103-10419355-d-a-44_1642625302316.jpg)
Most appear to have had negative experiences with the man
!['It sounds like just about every twenty-something girl in the city has seen the profile,' said @pizzacrust88, sharing screenshots of his profile](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53133449-10419355-image-a-40_1642624594381.jpg)
‘It sounds like just about every twenty-something girl in the city has seen the profile,’ said @pizzacrust88, sharing screenshots of his profile
![His profile included several photos, as well as a voice memo with a recording of a Smiths song](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128093-10419355-image-a-16_1642624247039.jpg)
His profile included several photos, as well as a voice memo with a recording of a Smiths song
![He listed his greatest strength as 'reaching the top shelf' and his height as 6'4"](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128089-10419355-s-m-41_1642625283850.jpg)
![He listed his greatest strength as 'reaching the top shelf' and his height as 6'4"](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/19/20/53128083-10419355-s-a-42_1642625287546.jpg)
He listed his greatest strength as ‘reaching the top shelf’ and his height as 6’4″
Yet another woman, TikTok user @pro_straws143, shared a story as well, as did a 22-year-old Leah and a user named @pizzacrust88.
‘It sounds like just about every twenty-something girl in the city has seen the profile,’ said @pizzacrust88, sharing screenshots of his profile.
His profile included several photos, as well as a voice memo with a recording of a Smiths song. He listed his greatest strength as ‘reaching the top shelf’ and his height as 6’4″.
‘I’m not saying anyone should get fired or, like, anyone’s lives should be ruined. Just wanted to share part of my experience,’ she said. ‘And if you have a history of doing s***ty things, you can’t be that surprised when it catches up to you.
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