The stock image was taken in the city of Girona in Catalonia, Spain, in mid-2015 by photographer Antonio … See more

The first known use of the stock image as an internet meme was posted to a Turkish progressive rock Facebook group in January 2017. The post labeled the man as Phil Collins, who is being distracted from progressiv… See more

Early variations of the distracted meme used other photos from Guillem's photo shoot of the three stock characters to create a story. In late January 2018, some social media users noted similarities between th… See more

Nathan Heller of The New Yorker wrote that "the delight of the Distracted Boyfriend meme was not unlike the perverse pleasure taken by Distracted Boyfriend himself: it allowed America to turn its attention away from much … See more

• Distracted Boyfriend entry at Know Your Meme
• "Disloyal man walking with his girlfriend and looking amazed at another seductive girl" on Shutterstock
• "Disloyal man with his girlfriend looking at another girl" on iStock… See more