Margarita Nazarenko has become the unapologetic big sister women never knew they needed, offering raw, no-nonsense dating advice that millions have flocked to online. Her mantra? Stop chasing. Start choosing. With lessons grounded in self-worth, strong boundaries, and unapologetic femininity, the Australian-based coach has built a loyal digital following of women seeking clarity in a chaotic dating world.
“What I really wanted to do was connect to people, be on stage and have that kind of connection that I have now,” Margarita Nazarenko said.
Her journey began in the UK, moved to Australia 15 years ago, and today she is a wife, a mother of two, a podcast host of Being HER with Margarita Nazarenko, and author of The New Rules: The Ultimate Guide to Being Her.
From Actress to Viral Mentor
Nazarenko’s path to becoming a coach wasn’t straightforward. She started out as an actress but soon discovered she wanted something deeper.
“What I did was, I thought what really appeals to me and that was expansion and self-expansion and growth like Tony Robbins and doing all that self-work. So I went and I did a life coaching diploma. From doing that, I realized that I love doing it. I started coaching women.”
Taking her expertise online would change everything.
“I started coaching women and then I opened this new app called TikTok. I went on there, and it just went mad, within the first six months. I think I got a million followers. Of just basically saying all the things that I thought everyone knew, but people didn’t really know.”
Early on, she understood how to grab attention.
“All the videos that went viral in the beginning were to do with how to manipulate a man or how to make him obsessed. I use those kind of titles because I know that in my toxic mind back in my 20s that would have appealed to me. I would have been like, how do I get the guy? How do I catch the guy? But in reality, I give practical advice in saying actually don’t center the guy and you shouldn’t be chasing him.”
Taking Aim at Modern Feminism
Nazarenko has stirred conversation with her unapologetically traditional stance on love and femininity. She believes the feminist movement has warped how many women view relationships.
“We’ve been told you don’t need no man, you’re a queen in your own right, why? The most essential part of being a human being is wanting to have a relationship with someone and perhaps a family. And if women get shamed into thinking that all they can do is work and that’s the only thing that’s going to be celebrated, I think that’s sad because some women want to work, but some women want a relationship and a family, and that’s great too.”
Her criticism extends to hustle culture in dating.
“The more you chase a guy, the more you explain to him how great you are, how cute you are, how amazing you are. The less he believes you. It is the most aggravating and annoying thing.”
Instead, she insists women must put themselves first.
“Women succeed in dating when they focus on themselves, when they decide who they are, when they have really strong boundaries.”
And for her, femininity is the most underrated advantage women still hold.
“If men want another hustler, they can go and find a work partner and they can make it happen,” she said.
“The one thing that men can’t get from each other is femininity. That’s why they’re attracted to women. And that’s why things like dresses and heels and all that is attractive to them because they don’t wear it. It seems as something different. It seems something untouchable to them.”
Why Gen Z Is Rejecting Hookup Culture
Interestingly, Nazarenko’s message appears to resonate with a generation tired of casual encounters. Research shows young adults today are leaning more toward marriage and long-term commitment than their peers two decades ago.
“This exact natural reaction that Gen Z are having,” Nazarenko said. “And that is, do you know what? I don’t wanna hook up with everyone because at the end of it, it makes me feel bad. I don’t like it. It gives me a bad feeling. No matter how much media or no matter where I read that, you know, it’s liberating. It’s actually not.”
She believes sexual liberation has left women shortchanged.
“What’s happened is because of the pill and sexual liberation, we now give everything that we have, our time, effort, energy, body, everything to men, just because we think that we’re equal to them, which we are as human beings, but what we are physically and what we can do is not equal. We are able to have children, they are not.”
The biological reality, she explains, leaves women far more invested in hookups than men.
“When you’re having a hookup, you’re thinking and feeling in your body that this could lead to a potential child. That is a really long engagement for a woman. Then you get hooked on the guy because this could be now the potential father of your children. Even if it doesn’t happen, that is in your mind and in your biology and investment that you’re making. For him, it’s different.”
Her warning is blunt:
“That’s what it feels like as a woman, when men perhaps sleep with you and then move on, that you weren’t good enough. Even if it’s not true, that’s how it feels.”
A Message of Empowerment
Despite her critiques of modern feminism, Nazarenko insists her core belief is one of empowerment.
“I feel so lucky to be a woman. I believe it’s a power to have boundaries. I believe, it’s power to say, actually, you can’t have access to me because I am worth more than that. I don’t believe it’s a way to look down on women. I actually think it’s a way to look up to women that the access should not be that easy.”
Her final reminder is one of individuality.
“You don’t need to compete. There’s only one of you. Your DNA will never happen again. You’re incredibly special.”
