A singleton showed the 'pressure' of being single in her 30s by revealing her parents' 'shrine' to her siblings' 'traditional achievements' of marriage and children - while her lonely selfie was 'hidden' in the corner.
Alice Cousins was visiting family in Cardiff when she noticed her parents had placed photos of her sisters' weddings and their children by the entrance way - but relegated a selfie of her to a 'tiny table' in the corner.
While her older sisters Anna and Lauren were immortalised in all their bridal glory, the 30-year-old was captured in a lonely selfie and a holiday snap posing with a koala.
Despite the subtle hint and claiming to regularly be quizzed on any romantic 'updates', Alice, who works in PR, found humour in the stark contrast between her single life and her siblings' romantic successes.
Alice with her sisters Lauren and Anna (Kennedy News and Media)
Since sharing the clip on TikTok, Alice's post has attracted more than 375,000 views and more than 32,400 likes and comments.
Alice, who is based in Peckham, London, said: "I thought it was really funny.
"I was at my parents' house to see my niece and nephew, and my sister before she gave birth.
"I just saw a random selfie of me that I'd sent to the family group chat. My dad had put it out in the most random place on the tiny table behind a chair.
"I sort of looked around and thought 'where are all my photos?' Then I saw on the main table as you walk through the house there were all the photos from [my sisters'] weddings and all the grandchildren - then one photo of me with a koala from when I went traveling.
"It was like a shrine to the grandchildren and then a little selfie of me again, just behind [them]."
The family shrine (Kennedy News and Media)
Alice claims that her singledom is a hot topic in the household - particularly around Christmas.
But she insists she won't settle - admitting she's the 'fun single aunty'.
Alice said: "A lot of people can relate to it - we're the single generation.
"This is a frequent topic of conversation in our family when I'm home. The first question is 'are there any updates' - which is the new phrase to ask to see if anyone is on the scene.
"I've just had the same conversation about a million times.
"I'm the classic fun, single aunty who buys all the clothes and comes to babysit when they want to have a drink, so it's not too bad.
"I'm a 30-year-old woman so obviously I've got a lot of pressure on me. But I've always said that I'm not going to be in a relationship just so that I can be in a relationship.
"I want to be with someone who makes me happy and who treats me well.
"I'm not going to settle for the sake of making sure everyone's happy that I'm in a relationship. I'd rather have a koala."
Alice's picture on a table of its own, in the corner, behind the door (Kennedy News and Media)
She said people's reactions to TikTok suggest that the struggle is a generational one - with some parents even opting to keep empty photo frames on display as a hint.
Alice said: "You can see everyone commenting saying that their parents do the same thing, or they haven't even got a photo of them.
"Someone even said that their parent had left a blank space for when they have their wedding photo, which I thought was really funny.
"It just shows that it's a different generation and different standards for traditional achievements. They wouldn't put me getting a promotion up there but a wedding is immediately there.
"It doesn't bother me. I make lots of jokes about it.
"I also joked with my brother-in-law that I'm going to do my own photoshoot, so they can have nice professional ones of me with a glass of champagne."
