TLC has a reputation for offering some offbeat programming, and it's a network where viewers can watch everything from odd foot conditions to 90 Day Fiancé couples who split after marriage. There's some odd stuff there, but nothing on the network holds a candle to the latest bizarre episode of My Strange Addiction, which has cursed the 2026 TV schedule with a habit involving dirty underwear.
Episode 5 of Season 7 of My Strange Addiction is available to stream right now with an HBO Max subscription, though readers may not want to after hearing what Anissa's addiction is. Check out a clip from the episode below, in which she talked about the need she has to sniff her father's used boxers:
For those grossed out by that TikTok, I can only say it doesn't hold a candle to the actual episode. Spoiler Alert for those who plan on watching, but for anyone who hasn't yet, I can at least recap how it all unfolded from there.
Anissa said on My Strange Addiction that there wasn't anything sexual about sniffing her father's dirty underwear, and it was more that it brought her comfort when she was experiencing anxiety. She said she's stolen over 100 pairs of her father's underwear over the past three years, and was once caught by her sister in the act of sniffing.
Later in the episode, Anissa came clean to a friend about her addiction, and then finally to her dad. He was understandably upset and disturbed about the confession and told her she needed to get help because what she was doing was not normal. Anissa went to a hypnotherapist in an effort to curb her addiction, but the episode ended with a card that revealed she was still sniffing her father's underwear.
Former 90 Day Fiancé cast members have claimed the show fakes storylines or that cast members lied about their stories, and I'm desperately waiting for someone related to My Strange Addiction to confirm the same. At the same time, I'm trying to think of an actor who would want to take on a role in which they have to actually pretend they want to smell their father's underwear, knowing that other people they know will see it.
Even aside from not being able to understand how this could be an addiction, I'm struggling to figure out why anyone would want to appear on television to broadcast that to the world. If TLC offered to pay for professional help, it would feel exploitive, but still more understandable than if someone did this just because they want the world to know about a habit many, I'm assuming, won't understand or respond to positively.
My Strange Addiction airs on TLC on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. I'm not sure this latest case is exactly a ringing endorsement for the program, but there are some other odd addictions highlighted that will blow reader's minds in a less controversial way.
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