The young male student immortalised in the iconic meme known as ‘bored girl in nightclub’ has revealed what really happened in the photo that made him famous.
Patrick Ritchie, then 18, went viral in 2018 when a photo was posted on social media of him apparently ‘mansplaining’ into the ear of a bored-looking girl holding her coat, later identified as his old schoolfriend Lucia Gorman.
Speaking to MailOnline, Patrick, now 24, said: ‘I didn’t know that the photo was being taken. I first became aware of it the day after it was out there. I don’t think people really recognised me.’
Patrick, who is now a graduate commercial surveyor, was about to start a degree at Aberdeen University when the photo was taken, and then went on to do a Master’s in Real Estate closer to home at Edinburgh‘s Heriot-Watt University.
But despite the image’s fame and all the words that have been put in his mouth since, Patrick can’t remember what he was saying at that moment: ‘ ‘I don’t know what I was saying to Lucia at the time…
‘We were out in the bar. We were in a big group and I must have spoken to her five, ten, fifteen times that night.
‘I can’t really remember what I said so it must been good night. I had a laugh about and it is what it is. It’s not really come up in the future. It’s just a bit mad that it kind of blew up.’
The former pupil at elite Scottish public school Stewart’s Melville College added: ‘I don’t remember what I was saying. It was a while ago.
Patrick Ritchie, then 18, went viral in 2018 when a photo was posted on social media of him apparently ‘mansplaining’ into the ear of a bored-looking girl holding her coat, later identified as his old schoolfriend Lucia Gorman
Speaking to MailOnline, Patrick (right), now 24, said: ‘I didn’t know that the photo was being taken. I first became aware of it the day after it was out there. I don’t think people really recognised me’
Patrick, who is now a graduate commercial surveyor, was about to start a degree at Aberdeen University when the photo was taken, and then went on to do a Master’s in Real Estate closer to home at Edinburgh ‘s Heriot-Watt University
‘My family laughed probably when they saw it. I was eighteen and it was the start of me going out and about.
‘I’m 24 now. I have a laugh at it and I’m quite happy to leave it at that. I bump into Lucia from time of time. I was at school with her. We laugh about it.’
Lucia and Patrick were enjoying a night out at the Milk Tuesdays event at Edinburgh’s Bourbon nightclub in 2018 when the viral moment unfolded.
Her hilarious reaction to his conversation above the noise of the music was caught by a photographer and has since been shared millions of times, going on to become the ‘most relatable nightclub photo in history’.
Although Lucia can’t remember exactly what Patrick was saying, she said last week she recalled wanting to go home after having her ‘ear chewed off’ for long enough.
‘While it looks really staged, it was completely not and I was so off guard that I don’t even know how to do that face like people do,’ she told JOE.
Now, seven years after the event, Lucia has stepped in front of the camera again to pay tribute to the picture that made her famous.
Lucia, now an assistant brand manager at Premier Foods, says she thinks the reason the photo resonated with so many people is because it’s a classic example of ‘mansplaining’.
While Lucia struggles to pull the same face now, she is still keen to meet up with her friend Patrick again so they can recreate the meme in all its mansplaining glory
Lucia and Patrick were enjoying a night out at the Milk Tuesdays event at Edinburgh’s Bourbon nightclub in 2018 when the viral moment unfolded
The former pupil at elite Scottish public school Stewart’s Melville College added: ‘I don’t remember what I was saying. It was a while ago’ (Pictured: Patrick, middle, with friends)
Lucia has partnered with Samsung to highlight how the company’s new Best Face technology on the new Galaxy A56 5G can help prevent common photo mishaps
Lucia and Patrick were enjoying a night out at the Milk Tuesdays event at Edinburgh’s Bourbon nightclub (pictured) in 2018 when the viral moment unfolded
Lucia added: ‘I feel like a lot of women in the world probably really understand, and whilst he wasn’t being horrible, I think girls in clubs get the brunt of men just explaining things that you don’t need to hear.’
The former business student at Strathclyde University in Glasgow previously revealed people used to stare at her in lectures, with some even going so far as to take photos.
She even tried to take ownership of the photo – but learned the photographer owned the rights and had sold them to Vice, giving her no control over how it’s used.
However, Lucia says the photo, which shows her wearing a red dress and clutching her coat, ‘could be worse’.
She said that she comforts herself with the idea that the ‘internet moves on’.
While Lucia struggles to pull the same face now, she is still keen to meet up with her friend Patrick again so they can recreate the meme in all its mansplaining glory.
‘I find it quite hard to do the like moody, grumpy, uninterested expressions, but maybe I should just get Patrick back in my ear again and we can try to recreate it,’ she told JOE.
Lucia has partnered with Samsung to highlight how the company’s new Best Face technology on the new Galaxy A56 5G can help prevent common photo mishaps.
In a survey of 2,000 Brits, blinking (36%), awkward facial expressions when saying ‘cheese’ (26%) and people standing in front of each other (21%) were included the list of most common group photo fails.
