6 Reasons Why Women Are So Obsessed With Rip From ‘Yellowstone’
He's definitely a standout on Paramount's hit western drama.
DFree | Shutterstock "Yellowstone" has taken over many people’s TVs, with the show streaming on Paramount+ and pulling in 6.83 million viewers for its Season One premiere and 12.1 million viewers for its Season Five premiere, per the Television Academy. While the show stars Hollywood royalty Kevin Costner, it’s Rip Wheeler, played by actor Cole Hauser, who has stolen the hearts of women across the world.
As a TikToker named Carla pointed out, Rip is not really going to win Sexiest Man Alive any time soon (although they really give that thing to anybody, so you never know). “He’s an okay-looking feller,” she said in a post. “But, I mean, there’s more attractive men out there.” But that’s exactly the point. Rip seems like a normal guy, not one who’s been airbrushed and photoshopped, yet he has a heart of gold. This, along with a variety of other reasons, explains why women are so obsessed with him.
Here are 6 reasons why women are so obsessed with Rip from ‘Yellowstone’:
1. He loves Beth even when she’s a little crazy
Rip and Beth Dutton, the daughter of Costner’s character John Dutton, had a long history dating back to their adolescence. It was no surprise to fans that they eventually ended up tying the knot. The only problem is Beth is a little, well, crazy. The Instagram account @onemin_short, which shared a clip of Rip and Beth when Beth was trying his patience, noted, “Beth is capricious, but Rip spoils her and loves her.” Carla had similar thoughts. “He loves her crazy,” she said. “He loves her instability. He loves her chaos.”
While not everyone can necessarily claim to be quite as trying as Beth, we all have at least a little bit of crazy inside of us. And, really, what we all want is to find someone who accepts that craziness and loves us just the same. Clinical psychologist Arlin Cuncic, MA, said, “To feel safe in a relationship, it makes sense that you need to feel as though the other person is not going to abandon you on a whim. You need to know that the person is committed to loving you unconditionally, no matter what the future brings.”
Rip doesn’t let Beth’s craziness bother him or stop him from loving her. Instead, he still shows her absolutely unconditional love that all women wish they could find. This is one of the reasons they love Rip so much — he loves with all of his heart, and he doesn’t let imperfections stop him.
2. He’s incredibly patient
In the clip that @onemin_short posted on Instagram, Rip is preparing to go on a trip that Beth wants to go on with him. She doesn’t come right out and say this, though. Instead, she sits by the window, sullen and complaining about how the next few days will go without him. Rather than getting upset with Beth and losing his temper, Rip simply tells her he couldn’t imagine the next few days without her and hopes she’ll come along to prevent his “misery.” He is incredibly long-suffering in his relationship and doesn’t let Beth’s changing whims get to him. He embraces them and her.
Austrian writer Stefan Zweig described the importance of patience in romantic love in his book "Impatience of the Heart." According to philosophy professor Aaron Ben-Zeév, PhD, Zweig said “the patient heart, ‘the only one that counts — is unsentimental, but … knows its own mind and determines to endure patiently and compassionately whatever may come.’” In Zweig’s eyes, patience is an essential part of romantic relationships.
Many women would agree, which is why they love Rip. He’s a bit gruff and rough around the edges (he is a rancher, after all), but he never lets this side of him come through when he’s with Beth. Instead, he holds space for her and allows her to be who she needs to be. He shows her the patience she deserves, something any woman would want.
3. He never judges or embarrasses Beth
With Beth’s craziness comes some interesting moments on the show. Sometimes she lets her mouth run in public, or claims to be right when she’s wrong. As Carla said, Rip doesn’t call her out for this. “He doesn’t embarrass her in public by putting her down or telling her she’s wrong,” she stated. “Even if she’s wrong, he’ll deal with that when they get home and they’ll talk about it there because that’s between the two of them.”
Scholar Gwendolyn Seidman, PhD, explained that being embarrassed by your partner is inevitable at times. Just like we get a boost when good things happen to our partners, we also experience their humiliation firsthand. So, if your partner shows up to an event not dressed properly for it, you’ll be embarrassed by them. Because of this part of human nature, Beth is no doubt embarrassed by Rip sometimes, but never because of something he did intentionally.
No one wants to be publicly embarrassed by their partner. Feeling secondhand embarrassment is one thing, but that person doing something deliberate to humiliate you is entirely different. No one deserves to be treated that way, even when they’re acting a little crazy. Rip understands this and observes it in how he treats Beth. Women love him for this.
4. He’s loyal to the Duttons
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Rip isn’t a Dutton by blood, but he might as well be. He’s known the family since his childhood, and now he works for ‘Yellowstone’ patriarch John Dutton. As the pop culture outlet Taste of Country said, “Rip serves as the rach foreman, a role that often entails skirting — if not obliterating — traditional views of ethics, morals and the law as he also serves as the Duttons’ unofficial enforcer.” Rip is willing to do pretty much anything for the Dutton family, something actor Cole Hauser noted when asked about what attracts women to Rip. “I would say loyalty, honor, love — those three alone, I think most women are looking for in a relationship with a man,” he stated.
John Gottman, PhD, a relationship expert, divided relationships into three phases. The third is “building commitment and loyalty.” The result of this phase, he said, is what determines whether or not a relationship will last. “It is about a couple either cherishing one another and nurturing gratitude for what they have with their partner, or the couple nurturing resentment for what they think is missing,” he wrote.
Beth can trust that Rip will always be there for her and her family, no matter what. His loyalty is rock solid. This is what every woman wants in a relationship. Knowing they can trust and depend on a man is essential, and seeing Rip do that for Beth just makes them more obsessed.
5. He loves Beth for being herself
Knowing that Beth is a little wild might make you think that Rip has to overlook that to really be able to love her, but that’s not true at all. He loves her just the way she is. She never changes herself or wears a mask for anyone else, and he loves that about her. Carla said, “A lot of women miss why Rip loves Beth the way that he does. Rip loves Beth because she is authentically herself.” Even when Beth is annoying to other people, she’s not to him.
“When you try to pretend that you are someone else, you are … essentially at odds with your true self and subconsciously (and also maybe consciously) reinforcing the belief that who you are ‘is not good enough,’” psychotherapist Leah Aguirre, LCSW, shared. “You will never be content in a relationship when you are trying to be someone your partner wants or something you think your partner wants.”
Beth doesn’t try to be anyone else to please Rip, and he wouldn’t want her to, because he loves who she is so fully. Every woman wants to find that kind of love where they feels like they don’t have to hide any part of who they is and can just be authentic. Women see that Rip loves Beth for acting this way, and it makes them love him more.
6. He’s not afraid to take care of business … whatever that entails
We’ve already established that Rip is a rough and tough kind of guy. He’s known for stepping around the law to take care of the people he cares about and do what he thinks is right. He takes care of whatever needs to be done, no matter what it means for him. He’s willing to put himself in a position where he could be in danger or get in trouble to be there for the people he loves the most.
Who doesn’t love a bad boy? While Rip may not be outfitted in a leather jacket and riding a motorcycle, his cowboy boots and horse are just as effective for the tough image he projects. Women know Rip will always take care of business, whatever that looks like and whatever that requires, and they’re obsessed with him for it. Everyone wants someone they can count on without question, and Rip is that guy.
Rip may seem like a tough guy, but "Yellowstone" fans know he’s really a softie. He loves with all his heart and always shows up for his people. His loyalty, dedication, and love make women absolutely obsessed with him. And really, is there any wonder why they are?
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
