About

Peeling Oranges, also known as I Peeled My Orange Today, refers to a series of memes about a sad TikTok slideshow that was posted in late 2023, outlining a heartbreak story in which the woman's former boyfriend would peel her oranges for her. The original slideshow showed iMessages between the two former lovers (one named Charlotte). The last photo in the slideshow was a green text message reading, "I peeled my orange today," symbolizing her change and the deterioration of their romance. After the slideshow went viral, users on TikTok started to reference it in video content and memes, reiterating how touching it was. The trend is notably similar to the Ten Legs, Eight Broken poem. In January 2024, the so-called Orange Peel Theory emerged, spreading memes about peeling oranges on Twitter / X, among other sites.

Origin

On November 4th, 2023, TikToker^[1] @things.i.cant.sen posted a photo slideshow with 16 images, using a sad slideshow audio that used soundbites from the Interlinked scenes in Blade Runner 2049. The slideshow outlined an iMessage conversation between two former lovers at the end of high school. The conversation centered on the symbol of peeling oranges. The last photo in the slideshow was a green text message reading, "I peeled my orange today," symbolizing the character Charlotte's change and the deterioration of their romance. Over four days, the slideshow gained roughly 5.8 million plays and 1 million likes (recording shown below).

Spread

Soon after the slideshow's virality, users on TikTok started to reference it in their video content, centering on the final slide and its statement, "I peeled my orange today." For instance, on November 7th, 2023, TikToker^[2] @kh4yla.com posted a video of herself crying with the statement written in text overlay, gaining roughly 6.7 million plays and 699,900 likes in one day (shown below, left).

Also on November 7th, 2023, TikToker^[3] @mattiesbasement posted a similar video showing himself emotional, gaining roughly 5.9 million plays and 365,000 likes in two months (shown below, right).

Orange Peel Theory

The Orange Peel Theory refers to a relationship test popularized on TikTok in November 2023 that focuses on asking a partner to peel an orange and watching how they react to the request. The idea is that small acts of service are not just about the action itself but about what it represents in the relationship. The trend started after the viral I Peeled My Orange TikTok slideshow. The test was also the subject of a viral debate on social media and was a hot topic discussed by media outlets in late 2023. At the start of January 2024, a new video about the theory was posted by TikToker^[4] @shelbyywilfong that quickly went viral and reignited the discussion on the internet (examples shown below).

Peeling Oranges Memes

Following the virality of the Orange Peel Theory in January 2024, image-based memes about peeling oranges spread on social media, predominantly on Twitter / X. For instance, on January 6th, 2024, X^[5] user @blondebaby222 tweeted, "I’m gonna marry a man who peels my oranges for me," gaining over 6,300 likes in 11 days (shown below, left).

A week later, more satirical iterations surfaced, evident in a post shared by X^[6] user @sandavidcito in which he joked about, "a way to grow oranges without a peel," gaining over 81,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

The jokes about peeling oranges became increasingly elaborate going into late January 2024. For instance, on January 16th, 2024, X^[7] user @gatozandart posted an elaborately peeled orange, captioned, "when a beautiful woman asks me for an orange this is what i do. it’s that simple," receiving over 73,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, left).

Also on January 16th, 2024, X^[8] user @PresidentToguro posted a meme using the Was It the Guy template, reading, "Was it the guy who peeled your orange?" gaining over 17,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References