Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox’s engagement under a banyan tree in Puerto Rico shook the social media souls of all followers of celebrity culture. Some can’t help but draw cringey similarities between the MGK/Megan Fox powerduo and the original, goth-hearted, trailblazing Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie of the early 2000s.

Madly and publicly in love, the darkly romantic duo fascinate their fans by wearing necklaces with each other’s blood and sporting matching tattoos. The two already have tattoos of one another’s initials decorating their bodies, but they took their trust and commitment one step further by giving each other matching tattoos reading, “the darkest fairytale,” apparently a reference to one of their first text messages. Some fans feel as though they know too much, however.

“I’m not a huge fan of their relationship,” commented senior Damola Olorunfemi. “I love Megan Fox and I can tolerate MGK. Them being together is not horrible, but Megan Fox can definitely do better. The big reason why I don’t like their relationship is how public and cringy it is. Like they are the literal definition of TMI. Everything I’ve learned about that relationship was against my will. Truly.”

“They are the epitome of a middle school relationship,” added senior Presley Nyirenda. “[Like] I don’t seek out the information, they force-feed it down my throat.”

MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, proudly described the gorgeous, custom-designed Stephen Webster ring that Fox now sports on her right hand. A diamond and Colombian emerald were cut into teardrop shapes and placed upon two different bands that, when worn together, snap with a magnet so the two teardrops form a heart shape. MGK actually designed the ring to hurt when it was removed, as the bands have thorns. The emerald is Fox’s birthstone, the diamond is MGK’s, and their stones joining into a heart signifies the couple’s souls morphing into one.

Following their poetic declarations of love on Instagram and a video of the proposal under the banyan tree, MGK and Megan Fox continued to send shockwaves into the social media world by admitting to drinking each other’s blood. Fox’s Instagram caption about the proposal ended with, “And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes …and then we drank each other’s blood.”

“When Megan Fox posted the engagement on her insta, and part of the caption was ‘we drank each other’s blood.’ WHAT?!” exclaimed Olorunfemi. “I really hope she was trying to be poetic and different. But, honestly, knowing their relationship, they might have actually drank each other’s blood.”

But the whole blood-vial-wearing, tattoo-claiming, tongue-touching persona is no new fad. Back in 2000, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie set the celebrity world on fire with their shocking and gothic romance with plenty of PDA, blood vial necklaces, and a “Billy Bob” tattoo on Jolie’s arm. Thornton and Jolie served as the blueprint for a hedonistic, Hollywood relationship.

“I think they took a lot of inspiration from Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton,” commented Olorunfemi. “Angelina Jolie in the early 2000s was already the grunge and bad girl. She was different but in an iconic way, and no one could ever do it like she did. So seeing MGK and Megan Fox try to copy just seems sad. You can even see it through the public’s reactions to both relationships. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton were iconic and fun while MGK and Megan Fox are hard to watch and cringy.”

Stark similarities between the two famed couples have caused some criticism of MGK and Megan Fox, as some claim they seem like they’re trying too hard to be as quirky and off-beat as Thornton and Jolie.

“I think [MGK and Fox] are just trying to encapsulate every emo/alternative pop culture ‘it’ couple out there,” observed Nyirenda. “I don’t know how else to explain it, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing or deep as I feel it’s supposed to be. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton’s relationship seemed more genuine and everything they did never seemed as calculated, the other pair just seem like copycats. No hate though!”

Although fans and the public have much to say about the viral couple, in the end it is no one else’s relationship but those involved, and however they choose to live their lives is absolutely up to them. The public is just along for the ride, albeit with a penchant for criticism.

“Regardless,” continued Olorunfemi, “I still ride for Megan Fox, and I hope they stay happy in their strange little way.”