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TikTok is responsible for many viral moments. From the obsession with Stanley cups to the chamoy pickle, the platform has shown the power of social media and how easy it is for millions of people to jump on a trend or idea. The recent obsession on the app is the orange peel theory, which has girlfriends around the world asking their partner to peel an orange as a test to see how much they love them.
The idea seems to have started with a video by TikTok user Shelby (Shelbyywilfong), who creates potentially staged content with her partner. In the video, she tells her boyfriend how much she wants to eat an orange, but hates peeling it because it gets messy, and she has nails. “Tough luck buddy. Go ahead and peel it,” he responds after throwing her the fruit. “Figure your life out dude, it’s not all about what your man can do for you,” he continues, adding “You’re not that special.”
The video has over 23 million views, with thousands of horrified comments. “My bf was listening to me watch this and he also said ‘I hope she leaves him,’’” reads one of the top liked comments.
Now, there are thousands of videos of women putting their boyfriends to the test, with mixed results. Of Course, it’s hard to tell what videos are real or staged, especially considering the acting in some of them.
So, is it a valid theory?
Whether or not asking your boyfriend to peel an orange for you can potentially say a lot about how the relationship is going, but one therapist is shutting it down. Talking to Vice, sex and relationships psychologist Charisse Cooke said “Relationship tests are not really fair because they don’t take into account context, the situation, personality, or another person’s intentions and motivations.”
But she does see some potential. “They can be useful if we tend to minimize issues in our partnerships and be in denial about some of the problematic aspects of our relationships. By doing a test, it can draw attention to attitudes or behaviors in a relationship that are not healthy or loving,” she continued.