On last night’s Made in Chelsea, Ruby Adler and Reza Amiri-Garroussi’s tumultuous relationship made for all the drama again. Ruby found herself in hot water with long-term boyfriend Rez after she followed an unidentified footballer on Instagram. The pair – who recently got back together after a split in 2021 – subsequently had a massive row in a coffee shop.
It's all fans could talk about online as the show aired, many questioning why Rez had such a huge problem with Ruby’s social media activities. Of course, many also want to know who the footballer was – in fact, ‘Ruby Adler and footballer’ was a trending search term on Google this morning. Unfortunately for our gossip-hungry souls, it’s still unclear who the footballer was that Ruby fancied stalking online… sigh.
The argument does prompt debate though: is it ever OK to police who you partner follows on Instagram? For Made in Chelsea viewers, the answer in this context appears to be a firm no.
Some are on Rez’s side of course, considering the recent history between the pair when Ruby dumped Rez after starting a flirtation with fellow cast member Miles Nazaire.
So what’s the answer, or does it all depend on context? For a relationship in hot water with people trying to rebuild trust, it seems to be a no brainer that each partner would be more conscious of how they behave both on and offline in order to respect the boundaries their partner has put in place – particularly if the person being followed is somehow related to the relationship trouble. But when it comes to harmless follows of attractive celebrities, friends or colleagues, policing who your partner follows online feels like a slippery slope to a toxic, controlling relationship. Ultimately, if your relationship can’t withstand a follow on Instagram, perhaps it’s time to realise it’s not the right one…