Credit: Netflix

How come everybody is acting really brave watching Worst Ex Ever right now, because most of us would’ve tapped out after episode two of this documentary! Like… the stories in this thing get so bad so fast. All of them start by talking about how they’ve got the “perfect partner”, and the next second, the police are involved, and somebody’s life is in shambles. It’s actually crazy how normal these people seem at first, too.

And you know what’s funny? Everybody online keeps saying the exact same thing after finishing it: No dating from now on. Most people went back to apologise to their friends after ignoring the red flags of their exes. Worst Ex Ever has viewers sitting there remembering weird little moments from old relationships.

The wildest part, though, is how scary yet believable all of it is. These aren’t giant celebrity scandals or huge serial killer cases. It’s regular people getting pulled into manipulative relationships that turn terrifying. Which honestly makes it hit harder because you can actually picture this happening to somebody you know. Or worse… to you. Yeah. No thanks!

And once you finish Worst Ex Ever, it’s over for you because Netflix immediately starts recommending even more dating nightmare documentaries right after. Catfishing, romance scams, creepy obsession stories, people living whole double lives… like, hello? Why are there so many terrifying people walking around freely? But if you have a problem picking from the sea of these documentaries, here are four on Netflix you absolutely need to watch.

Four disturbing true-crime dating documentaries on Netflix

Bad Vegan (2022)

No, because this story is actually insane when you think about it. Almost unbelievable, actually! Okay, so imagine building one of the most successful vegan restaurants in New York and then throwing your entire life away because some weird man convinced you he could make your dog immortal. As absurd as it sounds, it’s very true. Bad Vegan follows Sarma Melngailis, owner of the trendy restaurant ‘Pure Food and Wine’, who falls for a man called Shane Fox online. At first, he is all mysterious and charming and acting like he has loads of connections. What follows is a series of weird requests.

He convinces Sarma that if she proves her loyalty to him, they’ll basically unlock some next-level life together involving wealth, safety, and, most importantly… eternal life for her dog, Leon. And the maddest part is you keep watching and begging her to stand up for herself, but the manipulation is actually terrifying. You witness her build a successful business and also the downfall that follows, where she’s stealing money from employees and going on the run with this man. Dreadful! In this Netflix documentary, every episode gets more ridiculous than the last, so prepare yourself.

Lover, Stalker, Killer (2024)

This documentary follows Dave Kroupa, a mechanic from Nebraska who is casually dating after ending a long-term relationship. We’ve all been there. Then, he meets Liz Golyar and Cari Farver around the same time, and at first, it’s all very normal adult dating drama. But then Cari disappears all of a sudden… except she doesn’t really disappear because everyone starts receiving thousands of disturbing texts and emails from her. And by thousands, we mean thousands, quite literally. These emails involve threats and stalking, even harassment.

But that’s not the creepiest part of this documentary. It’s the fact of how long the situation has been going on. Years, people. Year! Imagine changing your number and still winding up in the mess. Police are confused, and so is Dave. And the twists in this are actually sickening because every time you think you’ve figured out what’s happening, something even darker gets revealed.

The Tinder Swindler (2022)

Tinder Swindler is one of those documentaries that do not need any introduction. You see, there are scammers, and then there are dating scammers who don’t just suck the emotions out of you; they also take your money. Because what do you mean somebody managed to fake being a billionaire’s son while borrowing money from women he was actively scamming? The doc follows Simon Leviev, who presents himself online as this glamorous diamond heir living a luxury lifestyle. Fancy hotels, first-class flights, you know, the usual. And because he meets women through Tinder, everything starts off feeling like a romcom.

He is so charming that women practically walk into his trap. Then suddenly Simon starts calling these women in a panic, claiming dangerous enemies are after him, and he can’t use his bank accounts. So naturally, because they care about him, women like Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjöholm, and Ayleen Charlotte start lending him money to “help”. Except the money never stops. The worst part about this doc is watching the victims slowly realise what’s happening. Watch it for your own betterment.

Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare (2024)

This documentary is enough to make anyone delete their social media, and that statement should be enough to tell you the intensity of it. The level of manipulation in this story is actually terrifying. Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare tells the story of Kirat Assi, a radio presenter whose life slowly becomes consumed by an online relationship with a man called Bobby. They speak for years. Messaging constantly, phone calls, flirting, relationship drama… everything that happens in a long-distance relationship. The fact that everyone around her knows about Bobby shows how serious it was.

What’s scary is how patient the catfishing is. Usually, these scams move very quickly, asking for money or something dodgy, like in The Tinder Swindler, but this man built it slowly over nearly a decade. So while you’re watching, you completely understand why Kirat believed him. Anybody probably would’ve. And if you end up sympathising with Kirat and questioning your digital footprint, we won’t blame you.