Remember the distracted boyfriend meme? A viral tweet just revealed a very queer twist in the story…
The original distracted boyfriend meme (Twitter)
Distracted boyfriend was the meme that launched a thousand tweets, but two years after it took the internet by storm a viral tweet has revealed a new, queer twist in the story.
It was the inescapable meme of 2017: a stock photo of a man looking at another woman while his girlfriend looks on in horror which became a metaphor for our times.
It was used to express everything from political commentary to existential crisis, and even appeared on the front page of The New York Times’ business section.
The meme continues to crop up occasionally on social media to this day. But two years on, a Twitter user has uncovered what they call the “biggest plot twist of [our] generation”.
biggest plot twist of my generation pic.twitter.com/btYNWfb9qA
— Conrad (@_conradsleet) October 1, 2019
The tweet fleshes out the couple’s story using additional stock images of the same three models.
It appears that after Distracted Boyfriend had his head turned, he proposed to Annoyed Girlfriend – still keeping his eye on another, mystery woman.
The third woman turned out to be a friend of his girlfriend’s – but as the pictures reveal, their friendship soon blossomed into something more.
The final images in the set shared to Twitter show the two women marrying, while Distracted Boyfriend gazes longingly into a rain-covered window.
In less than 72 hours, the tweet has garnered more than 460,000 likes and has been retweeted 167,000 times.
Many were thrilled to see the story get a happy, queer ending.
pic.twitter.com/IWHvaJ7gkK
— ??judge✨bitch?? (@JulianMcQueen47) October 2, 2019
pic.twitter.com/Y20Gv4VsKf
— Pookie (@Cock_Noir_) October 3, 2019
Though some pointed to an earlier thread which extends the story even further – with a terrifying denouement.
The jealous girlfriend/unfaithful guy meme has an entire story.
THREAD. pic.twitter.com/7nDx1wTs4w— emotitude. (@BuhariSama) August 7, 2019
Gay distracted boyfriend meme
Last October, a gay version of the distracted boyfriend meme sent LGBT+ Twitter into hysterics.
Is… is this an improved version of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme pic.twitter.com/VihmJGDnx6
— SKYLXRK?PAXAus (@skylxrksays) October 1, 2018
The updated version showed a straight couple marrying near an ocean. But while the bride is smiling at the camera, her new husband is mesmerised by a hairy speedo-clad man emerging from the water.
