Why this viral dating trend can leave partners questioning everything

By Lauren Wilkin

A couples therapist is warning people that the "monkey branching" relationship trend can leave partners questioning what was real and what wasn't.

Kayla Meyer, a licensed therapist from Macungie, Pennsylvania, who specializes in relationship attachment, explained: "'Monkey branching' is a pop psychology term for lining up a new romantic relationship before ending the current one.

"This is similar to monkeys swinging from branch to branch - they don't let go of the current branch until they have another branch within their reach," she added.

While the term has been circulating since 2025, searches for 'monkey branching' have recently surged, with people taking to social media and Reddit for advice on how to cope.

And Kayla says that even though it's a common phenomenon, we shouldn't underestimate the harm it can do.

"'Monkey branching' can hurt both the current and new partner," she warned.

"The current partner can be left grieving the relationship while also questioning what was real as the individual quickly enters a new relationship.

"The new partner may unknowingly be serving as a Band-Aid for painful feelings or a source of validation and reassurance, without realizing how much that need is driving the relationship.

"For the person moving between partners, the immediate reassurance can make it easier to avoid examining their own role in relationship difficulties, increasing the risk of repeating them.

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"Monkey branching can allow you to change partners without changing the way you handle closeness, conflict, or disappointment."

Kayla says she sees the same reasons coming up time and time again for this kind of attachment style.

"For some people, securing another relationship helps them avoid what being alone brings up," she explained.

"Being single may stir painful feelings about their worth, lovability, or ability to cope on their own," explains Kayla, who owns a private practice in Pennsylvania that helps people navigate relationship and attachment challenges.

"A new relationship can serve as a Band-Aid: it soothes those feelings without necessarily addressing what's underneath.

"This can be understood through the lens of attachment anxiety, particularly when someone relies heavily on romantic reassurance to feel secure.

"For others, "monkey branching" can feel like an easy way out when a relationship becomes more emotionally demanding.

"Someone who struggles with vulnerability may turn toward a new person when their current relationship requires difficult conversations, conflict repair, or deeper intimacy.

"A new relationship offers excitement and connection before it carries those same demands. They may want the reassurance of having someone without the vulnerability of being fully known."

Kayla explains that these are just possible explanations, not excuses.