Man from the ‘bored nightclub girl’ meme reveals what really happened on that viral night

Picture this: You’re freshly 18 and heading out to nightclubs for the first time only to find that a photographer’s candid picture of you has gone viral  – well, that’s exactly what happened to the man in the bored nightclub girl meme, Patrick Ritchie.

Not to sound too philosophical, but every meme has a story. The screaming at the cat meme was actually from a dark Real Housewives storyline, the fish and rice cake dude is still active, and just recently, Ashton Hall became a meme thanks to his stupid af morning routine. The bored nightclub girl meme also has its own lore, and the girl at the center of it, Lucia Gorman, recently spoke out.

“I feel like a lot of women in the world probably really understand, and while 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,” she told JOE last week. “While it looks really staged, it wasn’t at all. I was so off-guard that I don’t even know how to do that face like people do.”

But there are two sides to every story and now that chatty kathy himself has come forward.

The man from the ‘bored nightclub girl’ meme speaks out

Back in 2018, at a Milk Tuesdays event at Edinburgh’s Bourbon nightclub, Lucia Gorman found herself at the centre of a meme after a photographer snapped the moment a man was talking in her ear. We’ve all been there, some grimy man whispering sweet nothings in your ear as you’re trying to neck your fourth VK without throwing up.

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The meme has been widely circulated on just about every social media platform since, with people calling it a wholly “relatable” experience. More often than not, you’ll see the image attached to memes about mansplaining or men just being a general menaces.

Speaking to the MailOnline for the first time, Patrick Ritchie explained his perspective after the back of his head became one of the most recognisable images on the internet.

“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, told the publication.

Patrick couldn’t remember the exact words he said to his school friend, but he did recall speaking to her up to 15 times that night.

“I don’t know what I was saying to Lucia at the time,” he explained. “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 have been a good night. I had a laugh about it, and it is what it is. It has not really come up in the future. It’s just a bit mad that it kind of blew up.”

Patrick’s family laughed about the moment, but funnily enough, he still runs into Lucia from time to time and they joke about it.

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Featured image credit: Milk Tuesdays/Patrick Ritchie