She got brutally rejected during a viral dating series. Now, the internet is up in arms.

What does Rylie's rejection reveal about modern dating issues?

How many views did Rylie McBride's rejection clip get on X?

What does Rylie's rejection reveal about modern dating issues?

What are Rylie McBride's interests mentioned in her introduction?

Rylie McBride had only one fear going onto "Provo's Most Eligible": that, when she got up to introduce herself, no one on the reality datingweb series would want to match with her.

That fear, unfortunately, came true for the 24-year-old.

"I remember telling my friend before I started filming, I was like, 'The worst that can happen is that no one gets up, and that would probably be the most devastating thing in the world,' " McBride says. " 'But hopefully that doesn't happen.' And I kind of jinxed myself."

The moment didn't disappear after the camera's stopped rolling either. Since McBride's appearance on the show released July 18, her rejection has taken on a life of its own online. The clip of it has been viewed 1.7 million times on TikTok, 5.4 million times on Instagram and 97.7 million times on X, where it's prompted heated discussion.

Many on social media have rallied in support of McBride and against the men. Some have argued the moment speaks to larger problems about modern dating and what's really getting in the way of young people finding love.

McBride says she doesn't have any ill feelings about her time on the show, and she's grateful for the kind words from strangers she's gotten since going viral. The way she sees it, the main takeaway of it all is that rejection's a part of life, and you can't let it keep you down.

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"I am honestly just bewildered by just the reach it had and just how strangers are so kind to reach out to me and just be like, 'Hey, you're going to find someone. It's OK. Just because they didn't stand up doesn't mean anything. You're still an amazing person, and you have these amazing hobbies, and we can see that you're going to go far,' " she says.

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Why 'Provo's Most Eligible' has the internet up in arms

"Provo's Most Eligible" follows a similar setup to Netflix's "Love Is Blind": Single men and women, separated by a curtain, introduce themselves, decide if they want to pair up before seeing each other and then date from there.

The first episode sees the men and women alternate introducing themselves. If someone from the opposite side is interested in matching, they stand up. If multiple people stand, then the other person gets to ask them questions and make a decision.

McBride remembers how, when it was time for the women to kick off introductions, no one wanted to go first.

"It doesn't really show this ... but there was a longer pause of people not wanting to get up. It is the first person, you know what I mean?" she says. "I just am more of a go-getter. That's just my personality. I'm someone who very much will go and do things. ... And so I just decided, 'Well, I'll just be the first person. That's OK with me.' In hindsight ... I just don't think going first was maybe the right option."

During the episode, McBride gives a short pitch about herself in which she talks about her love of skiing, scuba diving and themed parties. She also shares her excitement for her upcoming trip to Australia and says she wants to date someone she can go on adventures with.

Her introduction elicited "aww's" from the women... and crickets from the men. Some of the guys smiled and giggled throughout her introduction, which stoked plenty of ire from viewers online.

Many commenters were baffled no one wanted to match with McBride. "That was sad to watch. I also haven’t heard anyone sound that excited about life in a long time, that was nice. I hope she steers clear of mean people in life," one X userwrote. "Rylie dodged a lot of bullets here," wrote a TikTok commenter. "I am 100% convinced that every single one of those guys was intimidated by how adventurous and probably independent she is," wrote another.

McBride, however, chalks up her rejection to a simpler reason. Most of the guys, she says, likely wanted to wait and see who else was in the group of nine women before making a decision. As a result, whoever went first was bound to be at a disadvantage.

McBride doesn't take the men's giggling to heart either and believes their reactions had more to do with their nerves from being filmed than they did with her.

"A lot of people are giving hate to the people in the back who are laughing," McBride says. "They talked to me afterwards about it. They texted me that they were not laughing at me, and I never thought when I saw it that they were laughing at my response."

Does the viral rejection reveal anything about modern dating?

As the clip has grown more viral, people have debated online if the moment says anything deeper about what modern dating has come to. Some argued it shows the hypocrisy of men who complain they're having a hard time finding women to date, but then pass up driven, independent women like McBride.

"The 'male loneliness epidemic' is self inflicted," tech journalist and commentator Taylor Lorenz wrote on X. "These are the same type of dudes that will complain they can't find a good woman," wrote another X user. "Some men claim they only want to date 'high-value' women, but when they meet one, they reject her and then wonder why they're still single," wrote another.

McBride doesn't hold a grudge against any of the men for not wanting to match with her. In her view, she simply didn't fit what they were looking for − and that's OK.

"I just feel like rejection is part of life," she says. "Not everyone is going to like who you are or what you do, and that's OK."

Since the show, McBride says she's still single. Plenty of guys have slid into her DMs, but none are local to her. She's also started graduate school and hasn't had much time for dating.

She hopes her time on the show inspires people to put themselves out there and remember it's always better to take a chance than to wonder, "What if?"

"I would rather put myself out there than not have tried at all," McBride says.