About

A Stay-At-Home Girlfriend, also known as the Stay-At-Home Girlfriend Trend, is a woman whose boyfriend provides for her, allowing her to stay home and make TikTok videos, among other activities like skin care, making the bed and reading. After a TikToker named Kendel Kay (@kendelkay) posted a video in September 2022 about her "day in the life as a 25-year-old stay-at-home girlfriend," the video and concept went viral across platforms like Twitter. She became known as Luke's Girlfriend due to the repetition of her boyfriend's name. The video, along with numerous others posted by similar women, inspired humorous discourse and parodies about the "Stay-At-Home GF" concept.

Origin

The concept of a stay-at-home girlfriend first surfaced on TikTok in early 2021 from women on the platform that were semi-self-aware of the term's irony. On January 3rd, 2021, TikToker^[1] beccalarocca posted the first known stay-at-home girlfriend-based TikTok, following the "Show you and then show what you do for a living" trend. TikToker beccalarocca showed photos and videos of her shopping, ending the video by claiming her stay-at-home girlfriend status and writing in the caption, "jokes… kinda not really tho." The video received roughly 411,200 plays and 86,500 likes in two years (shown below).

Spread

Continuing into 2021, multiple female TikTokers started uploading "Day In The Life" vlogs that showcased their own stay-at-home girlfriend statuses. For instance, on June 16th, 2021, TikToker^[2] beyonka_smalls posted a "Day In The Life" about her staying home and being a girlfriend, gaining roughly 1.4 million plays and 101,500 likes in 16 months (shown below, left). On November 17th, 2022, TikToker^[3] septoctnov posted a video with text overlay stating that she used to work "70 hours a week" but is now a stay-at-home girlfriend who does Pilates. Over the course of 11 months, the video received roughly 8.9 million plays and 1.3 million likes (shown below, right).

Luke's Girlfriend / TikToker Kendel Kay (@kendelkay)

On August 16th, 2022, TikToker^[4] kendelkay posted her own "stay at home girlfriend mini vlog," emphasizing that she was a 25-year-old stay-at-home girlfriend. Within the video, she referenced her boyfriend Luke multiple times. Over the course of two months, the video received roughly 11.6 million plays and 567,900 likes (shown below, left). Kendel Kay continued to upload similar content. For instance, on September 20th, 2022, TikToker^[5] kendelkay posted another "day in my life as a stay at home girlfriend" vlog, earning roughly 390,400 plays and 14,100 likes in one month (shown below, right).

On October 22nd, 2022, Twitter^[6] user chaoticitgirl started a thread with the primary tweet reading, "Im literally so obsessed with those day in the life of a stay at home girlfriend tiktok videos," and earning roughly 6,300 likes in four days. The secondary tweet attached a repost of Kendel Kay's September 20th TikTok,^[5] gaining roughly 9.5 million views and 33,300 likes via the tweet (shown below).

pic.twitter.com/NJps4Efvgb

— bella (@chaoticitgirl) October 22, 2022

The tweet inspired a viral discussion that spread stay-at-home girlfriend content en masse. For instance, on October 24th, 2022, Twitter^[7] user shreyabasu003 quote retweeted the video, captioning it, "who did she send emails to," and gaining roughly 151,200 likes in two days (shown below, left). On October 25th, 2022, Twitter^[8] user superlameballs tweeted a joke that imagined his own stay-at-home girlfriend, gaining roughly 16,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Parodies

Throughout 2022, the stay-at-home girlfriend niche became saturated on TikTok, resulting in multiple parodies. For instance, on January 24th, 2022, TikToker^[9] septoctnov posted a video of her working out with text overlay reading, "Doing my stupid little workouts so my stupid rich boyfriend doesn't leave me," in reference to the "Every day I put on my silly little outfits and do my silly little tasks" meme. Over nine months, the TikTok received roughly 4.4 million plays and 681,600 likes (shown below, left). On August 20th, 2022, following the virality of Kendel Kay's initial TikTok,^[4] TikToker^[10] geemcgwee posted a parody vlog, gaining roughly 1.1 million likes in two months (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References