Brett Cooper — A Man Went Undercover as a Hot Girl on Hinge… | Episode 129

So, a man is going viral on X for going undercover as a hot girl on Hinge and getting over a thousand likes in 24 hours, effectively exposing everything that is wrong with modern dating and dating apps specifically. We already know this. We talk about this on the show all the time. I've talked about it for years, but people are lonely. Like, Jenz has been dubbed the lonely generation. We are not dating. Jenz is not making friends.

Jenz is not having sex. And I have long believed the dating apps are a driving force behind this. And you know, if you had a success story, if you met your spouse on one, that is great. Applause. Everybody snaps. That's great. But you are the exception, not the rule. Because for most people on apps like Tinder and Hinge and Bumble, Rio, whatever it is, they are not working. And in fact, the problem is even deeper than that.

Because I believe that these apps are destroying our genuine human connections and making money doing it. They are profiting off of that failure. And one man on X is exposing everything by posing as one of his female friends. So, let me introduce you to one of my favorite follows on X. He goes by Murray Hillg guy and he has a dating podcast. He almost exclusively posts about his dating escapades and dating in New York City.

And two days ago, he decided for shits and giggles to create a profile on Hinge acting as one of his female friends, Maddie. And he said, "Experiment. I'm pretending to be Mads on Hinge for one week. I made the account an hour ago and she already has over 50 plus inbound likes. going to test results and see how lame dudes are or maybe find her a husband. Who knows? Stay tuned. And then here is the profile he created.

As you can see, she's super cute, fun, beautiful selfies. The top prompt cracked me up. This year, I really want to marry an autistic man. Now, almost immediately after creating this account, his mind was blown by the sheer amount of likes and matches that she got almost instantaneously. He posted shortly after and he said, "This is actually more insane than I ever imagined. She is averaging a like every 1 to two minutes.

I liked back five just for shits and all five messaged me some dumb [ __ ] within the first five minutes of matching. The average man is cooked. Obviously, I am watching all of this fold. I am laughing. Everybody online is laughing. It is objectively hilarious, but also it's abysmal and it's sad. And this experiment is highlighting significant issues in online dating culture for both men and women and why I believe men and women are so at odds.

Now, before we dive into that, make sure that you like this girl's profile and subscribe to my channel. And if you want to stay up toate on every episode, make sure that you ring that notification bell. And if you want behind the scenes content and farm vlogs and story times and ad free episodes, all of that stuff, go check out cooperconfidential.com. That is my subscriber platform that we built just for you guys. So all of that content will be there.

All right, let's just dive into this story. I am so excited about this episode. There is so much going on here. All right, so back to X. The response to Murray Hillgy's fake profile has been insane, even for him. Like he has even been shocked as somebody who almost exclusively talks and posts about dating and modern dating. like he himself has been astounded. And he has been keeping everybody updated as he goes through this experiment, but the number of likes just keeps increasing.

Just a couple of hours after he made the account, he shared this. He said, "We may be cooked. This is very overwhelming and it is his hinge app with a thousand notifications." And then later in the day, he said, "It just doesn't stop. NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF DAY, likes and messages come in every few minutes. Dating apps for men may be a humiliation ritual at this point. I may never use one again." And then to really prove a point, 24 hours after creating the profile, he showed this screen recording of his notifications.

And prepare to be astounded. Just look at this. It just goes on and on and on. He's now done this multiple times since then cuz we're now on like day two, almost day three of this. And he's done multiple recordings. It just does not stop. So almost immediately, again, 24 hours in, he has had a few takeaways. Now, most importantly, as you guys saw in that tweet, is that men online are cooked because attractive girls have to do nothing except download the app and create a profile, not even really try that hard, and they are raking in more likes and matches than they know what to do with that they like how more matches than they can even deal with.

And then to add insult to injury, he's also been posting about how the guys who are messaging him are not even trying. They're sending boring messages. They're being lazy. They're being snarky. And he pointed out that most of the men on these apps are lib. Soy boy is not my words. They are his. But to be fair, he is doing this experiment in New York City. I am sure that it would be very different if we were in the middle of the country if we were here in Tennessee.

I mean, I don't really know. Nashville's kind of crazy, but the point being, we have to be fair. It is in New York. But on that note, if you are a woman living in New York City, I think this means it is time to pick up THE PHONE AND CALL some movers. And you can do that with my friends over at Pure Talk. Now, you know what Pure Talk's favorite holiday is? President's Day. Because they believe that stellar wireless service should only cost you a Jackson and a Lincoln for just $25 a month.

Pure Talk will give you unlimited talk, text, and plenty of data. Now, compare that to big wireless. They would rather celebrate Benjamin Franklin Day so that they can charge your family hundreds every single month. But you deserve better. Pure Talk is an American wireless company who supports our veterans and invest in a US-only customer service team. Thank goodness. So when you call, you are talking to somebody right here at home who speaks English.

Now before you ask, Pure Talk uses the same towers as all the big carriers, so you can enjoy that superior 5G coverage without the inflated cost. Just $25 a month for talk, text, and plenty of data. No contract, no cancellation fee. What are you waiting for? Just go to puretalk.com/cooper and you will get 50% off your first month. Again, that is puretalk.com/cooper to make the switch to peer talk. And after you sign up, you can call your friends and tell them about Jeby's full body health testing.

Now, between having an infant and breastfeeding hours every single day and running a farm and doing the show, I am wiped. And I know that physically I am very depleted, but it does not have to be that way. And we all know that if I went to a traditional doctor, they would pass it off as me just being postpartum, a new mom, and they would send me home. But not Jebity. They are here for solutions. Through their blood work, they test for 100 plus biomarkers to figure out what is actually going on inside your body.

And they are 100% physicianled, taking a functional approach to your health. The phabotamist literally comes to your house and everything else happens right from your phone or your computer. Virtual appointments with providers, inapp messaging, all of it. And based on your blood work results, they build custom supplement blends and so much more tailored to what your body individually actually needs. So, if you are in the same boat as me, if you are depleted and tired and need help, head on over to gogevity.com/bredcooper and use code Brett for 20% off.

That is g o ge vi ti.com/bredcooper. Use code Brett to take control of your health. Now, back to the story and back to Murray Hill guysy's observation that these men are not even trying. I just want to say like obviously looking at all of this, witnessing all of it, I do not blame men for not wanting to put in a lot of effort if you've been swiping for years and getting no success. And that in and of itself is a major problem.

Now, Murray Hillgy also summed this up. He tweeted this and he said, "Gents, here's the inside look of a beautiful mids hinge. Account was made today. It is never ending." And as you see, majority of guys just like photos. And while I think sending a message could stand out, the chance that you were even seen is minimal. So, honestly, just delete the app. So, what he's saying is some guys aren't even saying, "Hey, hello, sup."

They're just liking a photo and hoping that the girl will match back and that then maybe he'll send a message or she'll send a message. But even sending a message is not enough to stand out because of the influx of likes that girls like this are getting. Now compare all of that to the experience that most men talk about having on these apps, which is barely getting any likes or matches at all and just spending all of your time hopelessly swiping into the void.

And the few responses that they do get back rarely turn into a date like this guy said a couple of years ago on Tik Tok. Dating apps are uniquely depressing from a guy's perspective because you send out all these likes. Then only a fraction of those likes turn into matches. Then a fraction of those matches respond to your message. Then a fraction of the girls who respond to your message you have a good conversation with.

Then a fraction of those good conversations turn into planning a date. Then a fraction of those planned dates actually happen because sometimes things fizzle out in the planning process or sometimes people flake the day of. And then a fraction of the dates that you actually go on are worthwhile because either you're like not attracted to the person when you meet them or you guys just don't click. >> And that guy is far from the only one.

Like this is the story that I hear time and time again. And also like just look at this Reddit post I found. This is worst case scenario, but in a way it's a similar thing to what Murray Hill Guy is currently doing. So, this person posted a Tinder experiment with my girlfriend of three years gone horribly wrong. He said, "Two weeks ago, his girlfriend was telling me about some of her friends horror stories on Tinder.

And I laughed with her and said Tinder's way worse for guys, though." She didn't believe me when I told her that most guys get zero matches, and I wouldn't either. So, we decided to play what seemed at the time to be a fun game. Set up Tinder profiles of each other and see what happened. And then the obvious happened. After one week, I had pretty much no matches except bots, which is another huge problem for men on dating apps.

But on the other hand, she was bombarded with matches and messages, quite a few of them, from pretty attractive guys, or at least what I judge to be attractive guys. A lot of them probably more than me. She admitted I was right and that it was an eye openener, and we agreed to shut down our profiles. But the problem is, ever since she has grown slightly more distant and cold, and it is now beginning to be noticeable.

So now, this is the worst case scenario here. Now she's seen what's out there and how much attention girls are getting on dating apps that now she's getting cold. just falling away for her boyfriend. They're having all these relationship problems. So, the takeaway here with that specific post is do not do this with your girlfriend or do it but make sure she's loyal. Or maybe this is a test to see how loyal she is. But either way, I think that that is just continuing to prove what Murray Hillgy is finding.

And one person who commented under one of his now viral posts. It really seems to ring true, especially in light of that Reddit post. But he said, "Now I understand the appeal of going on the apps as a pretty girl. It is adoration tripping at the level of Cleopatra. It's ego boosting instead of a tangible tool to find a long-term relationship. And it's no wonder because Hing's user base is 60% male. This is objectively a numbers game that is stacked against the average man, which means that men do need to put their best foot forward in order to be seen.

They have to dedicate time to swiping to getting their foot out there. And we will get to how men are not doing that and how it might not even be worth trying anyway. But my point of bringing all of this up is that do I think that some women use these apps as an ego boost? Yes, a thousand% completely. But not all of them. A lot of women are on there because they think it is the right thing to do because this is how they feel like they need to meet somebody in the modern age and they are trying.

But I really think that all of this shows a fundamental difference in how both sexes approach modern dating. This is something that we have also talked about before. But men in general, as you are now seeing in all of those screenshots and screen recordings, they just swipe like there is no tomorrow all day long. Does not matter what time of day it is. They are less likely to get return likes and matches. So they just throw out this large net hoping that one of these women will respond and match with him.

It doesn't matter if they think a girl is out of their league. They might not even know who they're swiping on. They are just blindly swiping, hoping that somebody will respond. But women are in the complete opposite situation. They are far more selective. They are allowed to be more selective. They're careful. They are specific with who they are giving. They're granting that like. And this also might be an interesting thing to dive into in a different episode because this kind of reminds me of all of those studies that talk about how men are very willing to apply to jobs that they're not qualified for.

they're willing to just be bold and go in and ask for a raise even if they don't think that they're ready for one. Whereas women will not do it. They won't apply for a job that they don't think they're qualified for. They won't go ask for a raise. And I honestly think that that's why there is the gender pay gap. It's not because of the patriarchy. It's because of women. But anyway, moving on. Moving on from that, I just see a similarity there.

But back to the point. As one article says, this quote unquote mismatch in desiraability and in behaviors is why swipes do not turn into matches. Now, this is where things got even more interesting for me as I've been diving into all of this. Because when I think about dating and when I talk to men, when I talk to you guys, the most common concern that I hear is rejection. The reason why they're on the apps, the reason why they're scared to ask a woman out in person is because it's rejection.

It's possibly turning a woman off to the point that she will call him creepy and me to him. And obviously in our culture, that is a very real risk. And I understand men being worried about that. But on dating apps, that risk is mitigated. You can get rejected all day long and not really know. Like, you'll know that you're not getting matches, but you don't see the women responding to you. You aren't seeing the responses or reactions to you.

you barely have to even try. You're not even having to put yourself out there. You just have to move your thumb all day long and you're casting the wide net. And so to further that point, thanks to these dating apps, I think that there is a lessening social incentive for men to put themselves out there and improve themselves. You know, get more comfortable socializing and being around women when they can just get on the dating apps and shoot their shot without fear of being rejected to their face.

Because before dating apps, if a man wanted to meet a woman, if a woman wanted to meet a man, you had to approach them in person. You had to go to a bar, a gym, through friends, at church. And if you got rejected, you felt that it was to your face. It's awful. It's uncomfortable. And there was of course the risk that that rejection was going to be in public. And you guys might hate this and it might make you feel uncomfortable, but to some extent, I think that that social cost of rejection was actually good because again, it gave men incentive to improve themselves, improve their social standing, improve the way that they were asking out women.

And and also that's not just about men. Before you start screaming at me at the comments that I'm coming after men, you know, women enduring rejection is also a good thing. It's just part of life. You're overcoming challenges. You're growing. you're becoming better whether it is in work or family or relationships and dating. All of that is objectively good and dating apps have removed that. I also think that they're playing a large role in Gen Z.

Not going out and socializing, not hosting parties, not drinking, not going and doing in-person activities. It's because there used to be a drive to go do those things so that you could meet somebody. But now why would you do that when you can scroll on Tik Tok into somebody's DMs and swipe for hours on Hinge? So, I think it really is all connected. Now, you guys know that I can go on tangent. So, back to the point that I was trying to make about 90 seconds ago.

Throughout history, women have always been the pressure for men to improve their lives. And dating apps, the point I'm trying to make is that they seem to be destroying that because now a guy can get rejected 50 times before breakfast and nobody knows. He probably has forgotten about it by lunch. Like, there's no shame. There's no harm in shooting your shot. There's no harm in going after women who are out of your league.

It's actually just a game. The entire thing has been gamified, which is exactly what these apps want. I mean, Hinge, this is why it's so ridiculous. Hinge, prides itself on being quote unquote the dating app designed to be deleted. We want you to meet somebody. We want you to delete the app, but it's actually designed to make you addicted. Just like Tinder, just like Bumble, just like Rya, they are all literally owned by the same company and they have the same goals.

Catholic Engineer on X commented and said, "When will people realize that Hinge and other similar dating apps are designed badly intentionally? They have no incentive to find you a spouse. They make more money the longer you are single, more importantly, the longer you are single and on their platform. If they match you with somebody compatible, they lose out on you as a revenue stream." And here's where it gets even more sinister.

Because I don't think that this is laughable, actually. Because one of the main ways that they continue profiting and making money and roping you in is by hiding people algorithmically who could actually be good matches for you and then making you pay to hopefully see those profiles or get access to those individuals. They have gified it by allowing endless swipes, hiding people who you might be good for, and then MAKING YOU PAY TO NOT EVEN REALLY meet those people.

It is so insane. One guy said, "A big issue that needs fixing is the pay to win style that Hinge has. assuming you have the money. Being premium lets you skip the like and throw infinite roses into the wind. And a rose is like, oh, you only have a certain amount of roses. So if you give a woman or a man a rose, it's like, oh, he really likes you, but you can just pay to get infinite roses. He went on and he said, normally I am fine with premium models for apps, but profiting off of Lonely Sucker seems cruel.

It is. It's sinister. And he goes on and he says, "These prices are insane. One week subscription for 20 bucks." Just think about millennials and Gen Z. People who are struggling to get by, who can't afford groceries, who are doing CLA on everything, who are taking out, you know, loans through CLA to just get groceries. They're lonely. They want to be with somebody. They're spending $20 a week on this BS because we as a society have been trained to think that this is the only way that you can meet somebody and they're profiting off of this dopamine addiction.

It is insane. These apps just dangle the love carrot knowing that they have completely destroyed the dating playing field and the desperate people will always pay. And then of course in my mind things get even more sinister. Then you have invite only platforms. You have things like Tinder Select which I remember making a comment section video about years ago where you could pay $500 a month to be on their premium premium level where only the cream of the crop are invited.

I mean it is just like it's so insane and it is so wrong and sinister. Back to the whole story, back to virality and Murray Hill. Like Murray Hill's takeaway obviously after doing this for 48 hours is that men need to get off the apps. but he also offered what he sees as the only way to make dating apps actually work for the people on them. And he listed off all of this, and I'll have the tweet here, but he said things like having a max amount of likes that you can do per day, a max amount of matches and conversations that you can have going on at once, which I think is really important.

Like, you should not be able to have like 50 plus people that you're just leaving hanging, only current photos allowed, etc., etc. And all of this seems great, like 100% go for it. I would love to see something like this. But the problem is the main players won't do this because they would lose out on profits from the dopamine addicts and the hopeless romantics who just keep showing up and paying. So yes, in my mind I agree the solution is to be off the apps.

And I know I know. Okay, again you're going to scream at me in the comments. But Brett, everybody is on them. It's the only way to meet somebody. What if I do meet someone? What if I could have met somebody the day after I delete the app? Okay, did we just walk through the same story? Did we not all just learn and see how insanely slanted the playing field is? And we see how they have literally trained everybody, our entire society to feel like they are depending on them.

I mean, it's kind of like the healthcare industry in a way, but you don't have to worry anymore thanks to my friends over at Jebity because you don't have to depend on your general practitioner or the medical industry anymore. And that's why I decided to partner with my friends over at Jeby. They test over a 100 biomarkers, not 12, 100, and a licensed phabotamist comes to your house. No waiting rooms, no rushed appointments, just convenience and solutions.

And the best part is they don't just hand you your data and say good luck. You get an actual care team of physicians and functional health practitioners to help you understand what's going on and what you can do about it. It's custom supplements based on your blood work, not some generic one-sizefits-all thing. So, if you are done accepting normal when you feel anything but normal, go to gojvity.com/bredcooper and use code Brett for 20% off.

Again, that is gevi ti.com/bredcooper. Use code Brett at checkout to take your health back today. Back to the story. In addition to these apps slanting the playing field online, I also think that they have completely skewed how we view dating in real life. And I actually think that they have played a really significant role in hurting men and women's perceptions of each other because, you know, men, as we're seeing today, are seeing how women are getting all of these likes and not matching with them.

And women are bombarded and exhausted by men sending quote unquote lazy hate messages or ghosting them. And both parties are angry with being ghosted and having dates bailed on. So, I know it is easy to say that it is just a problem for men, but women are struggling through the exact same thing. in response to that original Tik Tok that we watched where the guy was saying like a fraction of this, a fraction of that.

Women were responding to that man's question about their experiences. And this is what they said. One girl commented and said, "It's actually really hard for us, too." Because some of the guys just swiped right on us out of boredom. And you can tell, and again, this goes back to the guys casting a wide net, swiping all night long, not even knowing whose profiles they're swiping on, but they're just doing it hoping that they catch a like, not even serious about talking to the girl in the first place.

Another person said, "It's exactly the same. We may get more matches, but most of them immediately say something terribly inappropriate. Another girl said, "Dude, it is the exact same for us." And 99% of the first messages I get are, "Hey, and it is so insulting I don't even write back. It is so exhausting." So, the point is, literally nobody is having a good time. And everybody is just blending and meshing together on these apps.

It is just misery. And actually, speaking of that blending together, a girl actually wrote an entire essay about this and she posted an excerpt of it in light of this experiment. And I want to read you part of it cuz I thought it was just great. Halfway through, she says, "The encounters themselves feel oddly pre-written, as though they are happening for the second time, even though they are technically new. Being on Hinge already feels like AI slot because everyone using it has been overtrained.

It has compressed attention, attraction, and interest into a narrow set of legible gestures and taught us to live more comfortably inside of it. And girl hinge, or the female experience, reflects a present condition in which connection is simulated by people who have already reduced themselves to the logic of that system. clean enough to be repeated, thin enough to be copied. So, nobody's standing out. We're just playing a game.

It's a simulation, and there is no real connection. And that's the next point I want to make. Because between the boredom swiping and the ghosting and the sad, lazy conversation starters, there really isn't much opportunity for genuine spark, which is much easier to find and cultivate in the real world. Because on dating apps, you are almost exclusively judging and being judged based on your looks and your perceived type, which also is not normal in the history of the world.

Like, just listen to this. of nearly 2/3 over 66% of people do not marry what they originally considered their type. Instead, they often marry somebody who aligns with their actual long-term needs such as shared values, emotional safety, compatibility, rather than their initial superficial preferences, which you cannot often muddle through on dating apps. And I actually think that people who are not 10 out of 10 hot model types will do and fare better in the real world.

Like a normal guy with an incredible personality and a great sense of humor will have better luck in my opinion approaching women in person than just swiping for years into the abyss hoping that somebody will like his profile photo. And that is literally what people are doing. Researchers at Michigan State University studied exactly how people use these dating apps. And they found that users make a decision whether they are liking or not liking swiping in less than one second.

So even if you take the time to make a great profile, to be honest, to put yourself out there and say, "This is what I'm looking for. I don't want to hook up. I want marriage." whatever it is, people might not even read that. They're looking at your first photo for less than 1 second. So, no wonder we are in this situation. No wonder nobody is meeting anyone when they are swiping based on their type in 1 second. And most people do not marry their type.

It is a cluster f of people trying to date outside of their circles and values and status and attractiveness. And yes, dating outside of your level of attractiveness is a real thing. This Tik Tok, I'm sorry, it had me wheezing. Truly never be humble until you make a hinge profile and see your likes and be like they think they have a chance with me. Am I Am I ugly? Am I [ __ ] ugly? WHAT THE [ __ ] >> OKAY, AND I KNOW THAT WOMEN MIGHT BE OFFENDED by that and they might be like, "What do you mean he doesn't like me?"

But listen, both men and women have had the exact same experience. Just watch. There are men out there [music] who are looking at me and they're literally saying, "Yeah, I'll give her a chance. Swipe." And they don't have teeth. They don't have teeth. What in what world? Why are you I'm not In what world would I even be an option? And they don't have teeth. This is what we are dealing with. One guy, Chris John on Tik Tok commented and said, "A hinge notification can really make my day go from bad to worse."

And then certified lover girl, so we're seeing both perspectives here. She said, "It is truly like putting yourself on clearance." So again, nobody is having a good time. And so, yeah, I know that it is easier said than done because again, it is an addiction. It is a societal conditioning and addiction. But yes, please God, delete the app. And yes, I understand. I totally get that it might feel like you are shutting yourself OFF OF OPPORTUNITIES, BUT ALSO LET'S BE REAL LIKE HOW MANY opportunities and real potential is in that mess.

And then compare that to the opportunities that with all of this added free time and energy you might have in the real world. Exploring new hobbies, diving into your work or your school, which are all things that in and of themselves will put you in front of people potential maybe matches in person. Somebody retweeted one of the viral Murray Hill guy posts and he said using dating apps in the year of our lord to 2026 is a humiliation ritual.

Again, putting yourself on clearance. Get a golden doodle. Host house parties. Hit the bars. Cat call joggers. Anything is better than this. Honestly, women in 2026, they might respond better to a hey cutie, how you doing on the street than getting liked on Hinch because chances are they aren't even seeing your like or your rose or your swipe to begin with. To round out this entire long story, my 30 minute rant, whatever this has turned into, unfortunately for all of us, in less than 48 hours, which was to be expected, Murray Hillgy was kicked off of Hinge, but immediately he improvised, he adapted, he overcame, and he made a Bumble profile as the same girl, and the results were just as harrowing.

He said, "The experiment continues. I'm pretending to be mad on Bumble now. I made this account 10 minutes ago, and it has 400 likes. How damn bad are men in 2026? Results and real chats to come." Unfortunately though, we didn't get to see much of that either because within like 4 hours he was deleted from Bumble as well. But here's what's really cool. There actually might be real world consequences to this social media experiment.

But who knows whether this is all connected or if it is just a coincidence. But the stock value of the match group who owns all of these apps cuz again they're all connected is plummeting as we speak. Just take a look at this. He posted this 30 minutes before I sat down to film. It's working. Delete the apps. Matchgroup Incorporated. And if I'm reading this correctly, it is down 7.2%. 2% just today. And listen, you will not see any tears shed from me.

I could not be happier. The online response, the comments, the real world consequences. This needed to happen because these apps, the stupid match group, they weaponize these addictive strategies. They prey on lonely hearts. They offer false hope to romantics to just try to make more money. And worst of all, in my opinion, they're leaving our already broken and fractured culture, divided, pessimistic, and no more matched than when we started.

So, take a deep breath. Let's all say it together. Delete the freaking apps.