Victoria’s Secret said your boyfriends better work, too! The 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has come and gone, but one thing the internet is still talking about? The unabashedly loving partners in attendance. In the age of parasocial relationships, there’s nothing the online world eats up more than access to the personal romantic lives of our favorite celebrities. It's an easy fantasy, which is why we got a whole five-plus-question interview with Dylan Sprouse on the pre-show pink carpet talking about his Angel wife Barbara Palvin. And it’s why they sat Dylan next to Patrick Schwarzenegger (so we could get a double whammy camera pan to their unceasing adoration). Relationships sell, and it’s clear VS is tuned into that as well.
That’s also why it’s no surprise that when the biggest secret of the night—Kylie Jenner making her runway debut in wings and the $50 million fantasy bra—was revealed, we also got a peek at her boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet. And the screengrabs are already covering the internet. Whether people are asking, “Why is he there?” or saying “Ugh, relationship goals.”
But there’s more to it than just that. When the question of our time has been, “Is having a boyfriend embarrassing?” the answer, according to Victoria’s Secret, is “not when they shout their love from the rooftops.” And that’s the thing: Boyfriends are embarrassing when they belittle their partners, participate in the manosphere, or don’t give their partners the love, attention, or hype they deserve. These men cheering and loving their ladies out loud is refreshing and seemingly rare. Rare enough to become part of the fantasy of the show itself.
The partners in attendance at the VSFS have essentially become WAGS. But where sports has a fair-weather relationship with the supportive women attending games, Victoria’s Secret leaned into the fantasy of it all by giving these men—and specifically their reactions—the camera time they deserved.
We’ve gotten to see sparks of this phenomenon in spaces like the WNBA, but it’s nice to see it on a different field, too. Victoria’s Secret’s entire rebrand has been about women (of all types) being the reigning voice in what’s considered desirable and sexy. Well, now we know a big part of what that may be.
In a world where celebrity relationships are practically their own entertainment genre, VS knows exactly what it’s doing. Give us the wings, the walk, and the boyfriend cam. We’ll be watching all three. (Partners who weren’t there and camera ready, we’ll be watching for you next year. Please come correct.)
Aiyana Ishmael is the style editor at Cosmopolitan magazine. In her work, Aiyana focuses on the culture of fashion and how it intertwines and shapes the zeitgeist. She is an award-winning journalist from Miami, Florida, and a graduate of the historically Black university, Florida A&M. She is a 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30: Media honoree, and her debut romance novella PASSING GAME is set to release March of 2027 (831 Stories/Simon & Schuster).