The article reviews the current status of four models of mate choice evolution: direct benefits, indirect benefits, sensory drive, and sexually antagonistic coevolution ('chase-away'). It highlights the genetic and evolutionary dynamics underlying these models and argues that progress in understanding mate choice is hindered by the distinction between models and the tendency to test processes as mutually exclusive alternatives. The authors suggest future research directions, emphasizing the importance of studying the genetics of male attractiveness and female mate choice, the costs of mate choice, and the interaction between sexual and natural selection. They also discuss the paradox of the lek, the maintenance of genetic variation, and the relative importance of direct and indirect selection in mate-bias evolution. The article concludes with a call for more empirical and theoretical work to advance the field.The article reviews the current status of four models of mate choice evolution: direct benefits, indirect benefits, sensory drive, and sexually antagonistic coevolution ('chase-away'). It highlights the genetic and evolutionary dynamics underlying these models and argues that progress in understanding mate choice is hindered by the distinction between models and the tendency to test processes as mutually exclusive alternatives. The authors suggest future research directions, emphasizing the importance of studying the genetics of male attractiveness and female mate choice, the costs of mate choice, and the interaction between sexual and natural selection. They also discuss the paradox of the lek, the maintenance of genetic variation, and the relative importance of direct and indirect selection in mate-bias evolution. The article concludes with a call for more empirical and theoretical work to advance the field.