Wife Guys

Added • Updated 13 days ago

Added by Adam • Updated 13 days ago by Zach

Category: Meme Status: Confirmed Year: 2017 Origin: Twitter Region:

Type: Character, Slang,

Tags: cliff wife, elf wife, projared cheating scandal, elleohhell fake wife hoax, i love my curvy wife, wife guy, wife guys meme, wife guys memes, internet slang, what is a wife guy?, wife guy meaning,

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About • Origin • Spread • Analysis •

About

Wife Guys refers to a phenomenon of men online who post devotedly about their wives, often to a suspicious degree, as though they were doing so for some means of personal gain. The term grew in popularity after a string of humorous controversies involving men and their wives happened within a few years in the late 2010s.

Origin

Both the New York Times and the New Yorker^[3] cited the resurgence in popularity of Borat Voice 'My Wife' as a contributing factor to the spread of "wife guy" humor. In the New Yorker, Jia Tolentino wrote that "My Wife" "highlights a ludicrous aspect of both heterosexuality and our more general desire to possess those we love. And, once you’ve been around it enough, it is fairly irresistible."

In 2017, Twitter saw a spike in jokes built off inserting "Borat Voice My Wife" into song lyrics. Some popular examples include a post by @LeftAtLondon which used the lyrics to The Killers' "Mr. Brightside", gaining over 70 retweets and 360 likes (shown below, left). A tweet posted by @KeiferLirette on November 12th made the joke with Hozier's "Take Me To Church," gaining 13 retweets and 113 likes (shown below, right).

Left At London is Gay @LeftAtLondon Follow Jealousy, turning saints into the sea Swimming thru sick lullabies Choking on ur alibis Open up my eager eyes Cause Borat voice My Wife 3:10 AM-25 Oct 2017

Keifer? I Hardly Know Her @KeiferLirette Follow Take me to church I'll worship like a dog in the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife Offer me that deathless death Good god let me give you "borat voice* my wife. 1:12 PM-12 Nov 2017

Precursor

On June 6th, 2013,^[1] Redditor igotskraped uploaded a picture of a garage door with the words "Stop! Don't e-mail my wife!" spray-painted on it. This itself has been cited as one of the early examples of when "wife" jokes started growing popular online by the New York Times, New Yorker, and The Outline.^[4]

Spread

MarkusJ's Email to My Girlfriend's Husband

MarkusJ's 'Email to My Girlfriend's Husband' was cited by The Outline^[4] as a seminal "Wife Guy" moment. On April 15th, 2016, Twitter user @MarkusJ (account since deleted) posted a tweet that said "real shit: this is the email i sent to my girlfriend's husband about me moving to the area," followed by an email in which he outlines his passionate love affair with a woman named Laura to her husband (email shown below with a redaction by hipinion user generic). This led to widespread parody of the email, often in the form of song lyrics, and was popular on Weird Twitter.

Mark Apr 5 (10 days ago) I figure if I'm going to be within shooting distance of you, I better try some diplomacy before I arrive I know this is all crazy for you, it's all crazy for me, and it's double crazy for Laura, who is the person I'm trying to protect and accommodate most of all in this process. People fall in love and people fall out of love and love changes all the time, but rarely for one person do they have so many things to consider, so many people to love, give attention to, and please as Laura does It's also rare to come across the one person you truly believe you're meant to be with, and not only have her married and with kids to boot, but also 2000 miles away in another sovereign nation. This isn't a fling or a tryst or an affair, it's two people being bowled over by discovering a deep wellspring of powerful emotions, and a connection that they never thought possible. I don't covet Laura, want to make her mine alone, or steal her away as much as I want to find any way possible to be in her light and warmth, and to nurture her protect her, and grow with her, for me, and everyone else, as much as I can I don't judge people, ever. Laura doesn't badmouth you, you're not some loser guy we scheme against in our private conversations Through everything she's shown that she loves you deeply and wants to continue a large portion of the life you've built together with but also explore and grow in other ways. It was hard for me to accept at first too, but I've done so, because again, she's just that god damned incredible a human being So yeah. That's where we are. I don't expect or anticipate a response, our relationship can be as distant or as friendly as we want going forward, when things are settled and comfortable and people adjusted. Life is crazy, and hard, but most unfair of all, short, and these connections and emotions don't reveal themselves every day, it'd be so self-damaging not to pursue it, it's a thought I can't even tolerate, and I think you'll find Laura feels the same way, and what's more will have the chance to grow and explore in other ways that she can share with everyone she loves Thanks for reading Mark

I Love My Curvy Wife

The template for what would become known as a "Wife Guy" started with Robbie Tripp, aka "Curvy Wife Guy," known for the I Love My Wife and Her Curvy Body meme. On July 30th, 2017, author Robert Tripp posted to Instagram about his wife, Sarah Tripp, a body-positive fashion blogger and owner of Sassy Red Lipstick (shown below). In the post, he lauded his wife's curves, and spoke about his attraction to women who did not fit the social standard for attractiveness (i.e., not skinny).

|| I love this woman and her curvy body. As a teenager, I was often teased by my friends for my attraction to girls on the thicker side, ones who were shorter and curvier, girls that the average (basic) bro might refer to as "chubby" or even "fat." Then, as I became a man and started to educate myself on issues such as feminism and how the media marginalizes women by portraying a very narrow and very specific standard of beauty (thin, tall, lean) I realized how many men have bought into that lie. For me, there is nothing sexier than this woman right here: thick thighs, big booty, cute little side roll, etc. Her shape and size won't be the one featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan but it's the one featured in my life and in my heart. There's nothing sexier to me than a woman who is both curvy and confident; this gorgeous girl I married fills out every inch of her jeans and is still the most beautiful one in the room. Guys, rethink what society has told you that you should desire. A real woman is not a porn star or a bikini mannequin or a movie character. She's real. She has beautiful stretch marks on her hips and cute little dimples on her booty. Girls, don't ever fool yourself by thinking you have to fit a certain mold to be loved and appreciated. There is a guy out there who is going to celebrate you for exactly who you are, someone who will love you like I love my Sarah. || photo cred: kaileehjudd

A post shared by ROBBIE TRIPP™ (tripp) on Jul 30, 2017 at 6:10pm PDT

When Buzzfeed wrote about Tripp's post in an article titled "People Are Applauding This Man For Celebrating His Wife's Curves On The Internet," Twitter users bemoaned the fact that Tripp was getting applauded essentially for being in love with his wife, a curvy woman, while noting that his wife was not very overweight, if at all. For example, popular Twitter user @OhNoSheTwitnt compared the praise the man was getting to the praise Donald Trump gets when he delivers a speech without insulting anyone (shown below, left). Twitter user @StewCElliott tweeted "The bar has been so lowered that "finding wife attractive" is now considered an achievement" (shown below, right).

Twitnter is Coming @OhNoSheTwitnt Follow People are applauding this man for loving his wife unconditionally like they applaud Trump when he gives a speech without insulting anyone. BuzzFeed Φ @BuzzFeed People are applauding this man for celebrating his wife's curves on the internet bzfd.it/2wq5Clj 10:14 AM - 4 Aug 2017

Stew Elliott @StewCElliott Follow The bar has been so lowered that "finding wife attractive" is now considered an achievement People Are Applauding This Man For Celebrating His wife's Curves @iamrob..· I'm not crying, you're crying. buzzfeed.com

Tripp went on to further monetize the success of his viral fame with sponsorships and merchandizing deals, culminating in a music video in which he raps about his appreciation for "curvy" women.

In the New York Times on June 5th, 2019,^[2] journalist Amanda Hess wrote "(Tripp) is pioneering a whole new online ethnographic group, one at the center of a deeply ambivalent state of heterosexual coupling in America: 'wife guys.'" She defined the term thus:

(The Wife Guy) is sexually attracted to his wife, and he talks about it as if he were some kind of hero. The wife guy is a mutation of the “Instagram husband,” the man who exists to take flattering photos of his wife, except that the wife guy is no longer content behind the scenes. He is crafting a whole persona around being that guy. He married a woman, and now that is his personality.

"Fake Wife" / ElleOhHell Gender Hoax

@ElleOhHell's Gender Hoax refers to the revelation that Twitter user @ElleOhHell, a well-known Twitter account thought to be an anonymous female comedian, was actually a man posing as a woman online. Twitter user @ElleOhHell was a relatively popular Twitter account, amassing over 23,000 followers and appearing on several "best tweets by women" lists online. On February 23rd, 2019, the person behind the account revealed over a series of tweets that he had been a man posing as a woman, using a portrait of his wife as his avatar, and that he and his wife were getting a divorce so he was ending the charade. The tweets were saved by user @dreamghoul.

1:58 Thread 4 Elle Oh Hell @ElleOhHell 7m I'm going to hear from a lot of hurt and angry people, and l'm probably going to go away for a long time, if not forever. That makes me sad. I'm sorry to the people l hurt. 4 Elle Oh Hell @ElleOhHell-5m Please know that the things I said behind the scenes, the @ replies to the people who were feeling discouraged, and the pun competitions were all the actions of someone who really wanted to be your friend but had to settle for just friendly Elle Oh Hell @ElleOhHell 4m Please note that I am not Gretchen andI did not try to get a girlfriend out of thiS. 2 Elle Oh Hell @ElleOhHell 2m The picture l used most often was of my beautiful wife on our wedding day. Now after many years of marriage and two years of separation (and one AMAZING little girl), we have decided that divorce IS the best course of action for everyone. Tweet your reply

Other Twitter users made jokes about the reveal. User @McLeemz tweeted a snowclone version of the Pagliacci joke, gaining over 80 retweets and 970 likes (shown below, left). User @marieberd made a Tired / Wired joke about the situation, gaining over 280 retweets and 4,500 likes (shown below, right). The event was covered by The Daily Dot. In the "wife guy" lexicon, the @ElleOhHell scandal became known as "fake wife."^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

bean to bar wife haver (wife is me) @McLeemz Follow Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed Says his wife is leaving him. Doctor says, Treatment is simple. Follow big time female Twitter account @ElleOhHell. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor...l am Elle Oh Hell" 13 5:20 PM-23 Feb 2019

marie christmas @marieberd Follow tired: don't email my wife wired: email re: your wife inspired: I am my wife 5:11 PM-23 Feb 2019

"Elf Wife" / Projared Cheating Scandal

ProJared Cheating Scandal refers to allegations that YouTuber ProJared, real name Jared Knabenbauer, cheated on his wife Heidi O'Ferrall with YouTuber Holly Conrad, also known as Commander Holly and the ex-wife of Game Grumps alum Ross O'Donovan. Furthermore, O'Ferrall alleged that Knabenbauer solicited and sent nudes to fans, some of whom were underage, via Snapchat while they were together. This was corroborated by several Twitter users who shared their messages with Knabenbauer on Twitter. The scandal was referred to by New York Magazine,^[5] The New York Times,^[2] and the New Yorker^[3] as the "elf wife" event, as O'Ferrall will often cosplay as an elf.

Cliff Wife

Cliff Wife refers to Jenny McBride, wife of YouTuber Shonduras (Shaun McBride) who fell off a cliff in a Shonduras YouTube video while hiking. On May 23rd, 2019, Shonduras uploaded the video "JENNY FELL OFF THE TRAIL.. scary moment for our family" to YouTube. The video has gained over 617,000 views in five days (shown below). In the video, Jenny McBride tumbles off a trail down onto some rocks in, what looks like, a seven foot drop. The couple reflect on the how scary the incident was for them and the reveal the reaction of their friends and family members when showing them the clip.

The event for many cemented the character of the "wife guy." Many began to form the character "cliff wife," similar to that of Curvy Wife or Elf Wife. That day, Twitter user @boring_as_heck tweeted, "Today is another Wife Day on Twitter. In this case it's the classic 'Cliff Wife.'" The tweet gained over 2,800 likes in three days (shown below, left). That same day, Twitter user @spindlypete commented on the recent "endless parade of wives" in a tweet that gained over 4,000 likes in three days (shown below, right).

tweet making fun of jenny mcbride falling from a cliff

tweet joking about the amount of wives on the internet

Analysis

Following "Cliff Wife," many publications began writing articles on the various "Wife Guys" of the internet. The New York Times wrote of "The Wife Guy":

(He) exists at the intersection of relationship status and influencer branding, and he exhibits a heady combination of privilege and desperation.. the wife guy seems to expect to be congratulated for entering into (a sex life), sometimes with literal rewards. The wife-guy identity is often not just a personal choice but a professional gambit.

In the New Yorker, Jia Tolentino wrote:

The Wife Guys (have) actively taken steps to embarrass themselves and their life partners. These stories, in other words, ultimately revolve around the needs and neuroses of men. And yet they are, nonetheless, a gratifying pleasure to behold.

Tom Whyman of The Outline wrote:

But something about the quality of the word “wife” continues to feel like it belongs to the old, pre-internet world. Mention “online” and “wife” in the same sentence and one starts to imagine a man attempting to hide the internet from his wife, like it’s a scene from a classic stage farce, the Wife Guy rushing on from stage left to stash the internet in a closet, which he must now dedicate all his energies to preventing his suspicious wife from opening.