What kind of hug is this

What kind of hug is this?

This is a 3-part relatable relationship meme. At the top, the text asks 'What kind of hug is this?'. The left panel shows a man in a black top and patterned sarong standing next to a woman wearing a pink hijab and white top, both smiling at the camera with arms seemingly wrapped around each other's waists in a mutual front hug. The right panel shows the same pair from the back, revealing an optical illusion: the arm that appears to be the woman hugging the man's waist is actually the man's own arm reaching around from behind his back, while the woman's arm is hanging relaxed at her side, meaning the man is faking the appearance of being hugged by her. At the bottom, a comment from the well-known internet meme character Xavier replies to the question with 'Love you but as a friend 😝', framing the fake hug as a 'friendzone' scenario where the man has unrequited romantic interest and is pretending the relationship is more than platonic.

This meme originates from Reddit meme communities, as noted in the provided source information. The core photo of the couple with the hug optical illusion circulated online first, and creators added the top question and the recurring Xavier meme character's reply to turn it into a relatable joke about unrequited romantic interest and the friendzone. The Xavier reply format is a widely used meme trope where the character posts dry, humorous, or relatable responses to viral questions.