Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The 'Distracted Boyfriend' Stock Photo Resurfaces With Another Meme

The 'Distracted Boyfriend' Stock Photo Resurfaces With Another Meme
YouTube: The Wrock Brother

Early in 2017, a stock photo circulated on the Internet that sparked numerous memes. The picture depicted a toothsome man in his 20s wearing a plaid, short-sleeved shirt on a sunny day, strolling with someone who is presumably his girlfriend. But, the boyfriend is distracted by another young woman walking in the opposite direction. His lips are pursed to suggest he's whistling at the passing stranger.

His accompanying girlfriend, however, is not having it and looks like her world is ready to crumble.

The image turned out to be one of the most adaptable memes of the year, but it's popularity hasn't run its course. 2018 brought about a reboot for the "Distracted Boyfriend" photo with a new meme that hit too close to home.


Twitter-user "cabeza de sandia" posted the famous photo captioned with: "This is disgustingly accurate."

People couldn't help but relate with the new meme that got over 91,000 retweets.



Does the truth hurt?

The ubiquitous stock photo was part of a series shot by Spanish photographer Antonio Guillem, a 45-year-old from Barcelona. According to Wired, Guillem spends his days out on shoots for images primed for the stock photo industry, and he's often used the same three models.

After a modestly successful career as a photographer, he wanted to go in a different direction stylistically. He described the photo shoot that took place with his models in Gerona, an idyllic town in Catalonia, Spain:

We decided to take a few risks, planning a session representing the infidelity concept in relationships in a playful and fun way. It was quite challenging to achieve face expressions that were believable. Mainly because we always have a really great work atmosphere, and almost all the time one of the models was laughing while we were trying to take the picture.

Mashable featured a hilarious story on digital marketer Andrew Abernathy, who stumbled upon Guillem's cast of characters in other stock photos and created a narrative around them.



Here are other examples from last year's famous photo with various memes that showed no signs of slowing down.


These are real-life depictions.


For Guillem, the photo that was taken two years ago remains something of a curiosity to him. He explained to Wired:

I never thought that one of my images will be that popular. I didn't even know what a meme is until recently, when the models started to tell me about the memes that people were doing with our work.

Little did he know he'd be creating a viral palate for memes that really resonates with people.



Could a movie be far behind?



H/T - YouTube, Twitter, Mashable, Wired

More from Trending

Cartoon Network headquarters; Pride flags
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images

Cartoon Network Trolls Homophobes Hard For Melting Down Over Pride Month Fan Art

The cable TV channel Cartoon Network, like most normal people, is celebrating Pride Month this month, and it did so with a post on Instagram that, predictably, has conservatives crying in their Cheerios like a bunch of triggered babies.

The post featured fan art depicting characters from the network's roster of shows over the years waving various LGBTQ+ Pride flags and the like.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot of AI generated video of Donald Trump
@WhiteHouse/X

White House Dragged After Sharing Doctored Video Of Bar Erupting In Cheers Over Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

On Tuesday, the official social media account for the White House tried to drum up support for MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, but only on right-wing platforms.

The legislation to further Project 2025 through more tax breaks for the wealthy and cuts to programs that serve the poor and working class has struggled since the start.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump speaking to military members at Fort Bragg
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Trump Gets U.S. Military Troops To Boo Democrats And 'Fake News' During Alarming Speech

Members of the military stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, erupted in boos when President Donald Trump goaded them during a speech in which he attacked former President Joe Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the "fake news" covering the ongoing protests in L.A. in response to the Trump administration's immigration raids.

The military has a longstanding tradition of remaining nonpartisan so it was striking that those in attendance, many of whom wore military fatigues, booed in the first place.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shot of a neon shop sign saying "body piercing." The word body is blue, and piercing is red.
Photo by Kaylee Eden on Unsplash

Regrettable Things People Did To Their Body They Wish They Could Reverse

When we're young and impulsive we rarely think about impact, consequences, and the future.

That's the downfall of youth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stephen King; Donald Trump
Rick Kern/WireImage; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Stephen King Just Trolled Trump With A 'TACO Tuesday' Image That's Total Nightmare Fuel

Famed horror author Stephen King had fans recoiling after he trolled President Donald Trump by sharing an image of Trump as a taco that was generated using artificial intelligence.

For those who missed it, Trump recently criticized Wall Street analysts over their new "TACO" acronym insult, which stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."

Keep ReadingShow less