Why birth control could actually make your dating life suck
Ladies, if you’re striking out on bad dates your birth control could be to blame.
Podcast host Elisha Covey is claiming the pill can change to whom you’re attracted — so maybe you don’t have bad taste after all.
“I realized after my divorce when I was back in the dating pool (and no longer on birth control) that the type of men I was attracted to was nothing like the men I was attracted to before I got married,” Covey, who lives in Dallas, Texas. “It seemed very strange to me that my taste had done a 180.”
In her now-viral TikTok, Covey, 36, suggested that birth control mimics pregnancy in a woman’s body — and, to some degree, it does.
The pill prevents ovulation from occurring and changes the cervical mucus, with some help from hormones, to make it harder to become pregnant.
“If you are on the pill, obviously not pregnant, you’re attracted to different men than you would be if you were off the pill,” she stated in the clip, which garnered 15.4 million views. “The man that I first married, my first horrible marriage, I was on the pill when I met him.”
After she got off the pill, she continued, it changed how she saw her husband.
While there were other factors at play when choosing her ex other than a daily dose of hormones, Covey told The Post she couldn’t help but wonder if she ever would have dated him in the first place if she wasn’t taking birth control. Being on the pill stabilized her menstrual cycle and cleared her skin, but simultaneously made her more “edgy” and nauseas.
“Maybe trying to meet a life partner when you’re drugged is not a good idea,” she quipped.
Users in the comments section were shocked to hear the revelation, while others bit back at the claims, saying they’re still happily married to their partners or require birth control for medical conditions.
“I have absolutely no excuse because I haven’t taken pills,” joked one user.
“CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION,” argued another.
“That’s not true for everyone. I met and married my hubby on birth control. I’m off now and I’m still attracted and happily married,” stated someone else.
“What about those who prefer being on it!? I take it and like it to help manage my PCOS and feel more leveled ON the pill vs off,” one user inquired.
” ‘I was on the pill’ is my excuse now,” someone else joked.
Meanwhile, Covey told The Post: “I think the information shocked the internet because no one really speaks about the very REAL side effects of manipulating your hormones,” she said of her viral TikTok, advocating for discussions about the widely unknown side effects of the pill. “We’re told there is a chance of nausea, weight gain, mood changes – but all of those ‘seem’ manageable. But we aren’t told that it affects your feelings and desires.”
In the US, 46.9 million women use some form of contraception, according to data from 2017 collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those women aged 15 to 49 who use birth control of some kind, approximately 12% take the pill.
Studies have shown that the pill does, in fact, change the pheromones emitted by a woman’s body, and it can apparently influence how partners are chosen, according to a 2018 study published in the National Library of Medicine. A 2008 study also found a correlation between birth control and women’s taste in men.
The women of TikTok have noticed that fact, too, flocking to the platform to share their own harrowing experiences while being on the pill.
“When you’re off hormonal birth control and can finally experience natural pheromone attraction,” reads one clip, which shows a woman sniffing the heck out of her man’s shoulder.
“Getting off hormonal birth control after 6 years and suddenly being able to smell men & my ‘type’ immediately changing,” one user wrote in her own clip.
Other TikTokers felt more liberated and healthy after ditching the pill, citing more energy, weight loss and deeper attraction for their partners. Meanwhile, others showed the tolls birth control took on their bodies, which included weight gain, acne, depression and more.
One user shared before and after images of herself, painting a picture of just how miserable she was while taking the pill.
“Literally not worth it to be on [birth control],” she wrote in the comments.
According to the Mayo Clinic, weight gain, breakthrough bleeding, headaches, nausea, elevated blood pressure and bloating are common side effects of combination birth control pills, which contain both estrogen and progestin. The pill can also increase the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and other health issues.
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