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Tale as old as time: Relationship status body change meme

This is a three-panel collage meme that jokes about common stereotypical physical changes tied to romantic relationship stages, featuring the same man across all panels. The first panel, labeled "SINGLE", shows the man extremely lean, muscular, and ripped, taking a mirror selfie in grey underwear while flexing one arm behind his head. The second panel, labeled "DATING", shows him still very muscular, flexing both biceps while holding a beer bottle, wearing red briefs. The third panel, labeled "MARRIED", shows him with significantly increased body fat and a large protruding belly, still flexing one bicep while taking a mirror selfie in grey underwear and socks. The meme plays on the widespread stereotype that people often deprioritize fitness and gain weight after entering long-term committed relationships or marriage.
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SINGLE, DATING, MARRIED

Overview

This is a three-panel collage meme that jokes about common stereotypical physical changes tied to romantic relationship stages, featuring the same man across all panels. The first panel, labeled "SINGLE", shows the man extremely lean, muscular, and ripped, taking a mirror selfie in grey underwear while flexing one arm behind his head. The second panel, labeled "DATING", shows him still very muscular, flexing both biceps while holding a beer bottle, wearing red briefs. The third panel, labeled "MARRIED", shows him with significantly increased body fat and a large protruding belly, still flexing one bicep while taking a mirror selfie in grey underwear and socks. The meme plays on the widespread stereotype that people often deprioritize fitness and gain weight after entering long-term committed relationships or marriage.

Origin notes

This meme is sourced from the Reddit:Meme RSS feed, with the original published title "Tale as old as time". It uses a very popular relatable comparison meme format that jokes about life stage related changes, and is widely circulated on general meme sharing platforms like Reddit and other social media sites.

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