About

Spool of Wire Guy or Wiregate refers to a viral video of a man (named Dan) telling his wife (Cindy) that a spool of wire he's had for 40 years is almost at its end, only for her to seemingly brush off what it means to him emotionally. The video was uploaded to TikTok and Instagram in December 2024 by TikTokers @cindyanddanfyc and inspired backlash toward the man's wife for ignoring his opening up about the wire and its meaning to him. The spool of wire became a prominent metaphor on the app, representing something that might seem meaningless to others, but holds sentimental and nostalgic value to its owner. It also sparked widespread discourse about men opening up emotionally to women and being mocked, with users explaining it's why some don't share their emotions with others and show vulnerability.

Origin

On December 17th, 2024, TikTokers^[1] @cindyanddanfyc, a husband and wife named Dan and Cindy, posted a video in which Cindy films Dan sitting in his boat looking at a nearly-finished spool of wire. Dan explains that he's had the spool of wire for 40 years.

He says, "It's like, 40 years of my life is in the wire that's gone. Does that make sense? This is what's left." Cindy then says, "I'm sorry to hear that and sad for you but you're wearing your Jets hat and I'm a little concerned right now that you're wearing your Jets hat. I thought that's why you were crying." Dan rolls his eyes and gets up, saying, "Okay, I'm done," seemingly upset that his wife brushed off the emotional impact and meaning the wire holds to him. The video gained over 3.1 million views in a month.

The video proved controversial to viewers, who began leaving comments criticizing Cindy for ignoring the fact that Dan was being emotionally vulnerable with her. Numerous users suggested that the video represents why so many men have problems opening up with their emotions.

Spread

The video garnered viral spread online, inspiring further criticism of Cindy. On December 18th, 2024, X^[2] user @WhiteSoxic posted it, writing, "Thoughts?" garnering over 55,000 likes in a month.

On December 19th, 2024, Cindy posted a video to TikTok^[3] responding to the comments. She says she didn't take the comments personally and insists that Dan is fine, saying "relationships struggle with transparent conversation […] with honest responses," saying they have a "unique relationship" and "play a lot." The video gained over 296,000 views in a month.

On December 20th, Dan posted a video responding to "Wiregate" to TikTok,^[4] garnering over 1.7 million views in the same span of time. In his video, he thanks everyone for the comments and denies it being a setup.

He explains that he feels like the wire represents his dwindling life, adding that he "blindsided" his wife and asked her to come out and film and her first instinct was to make a joke about the Jets hat. He ends the video saying his wife is "the most loving, amazing person" he's had and that her communication is incredible.

On December 21st, 2024, TikToker^[5] @truehumblebeginnings01 posted an emotional edit of the video that gained over 15 million views in a month. On December 26th, YouTuber^[6] emilywking posted a video reacting to the spool of wire video, saying, "This is why men have a difficult time being vulnerable with women," garnering over 1.1 million views in a month.

On December 30th, TikToker^[7] @90skid4lyfe posted a video in which he uses the spool of wire as a metaphor, filming himself looking at old nostalgic items from his childhood, garnering over 1.7 million views in a month.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References