Orange Peel Theory

About

The Orange Peel Theory refers to a relationship test popularized on TikTok in November 2023 that focuses on asking a partner to peel an orange and watching how they react to the request. The idea is that small acts of service are not just about the action itself but about what it represents in the relationship. The trend started after the viral I Peeled My Orange TikTok slideshow. The test was also the subject of a viral debate on social media and was a hot topic discussed by media outlets in late 2023. At the start of January 2024, a new video about the theory was posted on TikTok that quickly went viral and reignited the discussion on the internet.

Origin

The orange peel theory was inspired by a TikTok^[6] slideshow posted on November 4th, 2023 by @things.i.cant.sen which has garnered over 16 million plays and 2.5 million likes in three months. The slideshow contains screenshots of a conversation between two exes who hadn’t spoken in a while. The post inspired the I peeled my orange trend on TikTok.

On November 11th, 2023, the earliest known mention of the "orange peel theory" was posted on TikTok^[1] by user @neanotmia. In the video (shown below), she explained the theory as a test to understand how much you can trust your partner by seeing how they react to you asking for them to peel an orange, which could be considered a small task you could easily do yourself, but you are asking for a favor on their part. The post amassed over 2.2 million plays and 205,000 likes in three months.

Spread

The relationship test was quickly picked up by TikTokers who wanted to partake in the trend, such as user @trippin.bree,^[2] who posted a video on December 11th, 2023, of her husband cutting her burger as an example of the Orange Peel Theory by saying, "The tiniest thing can make a world of difference, I love you mon amour." The video (shown below, left) amassed more than 5 million plays and 515,000 likes in three months.

On November 17th, TikTok^[3] user @annabhamm posted a video further detailing the trend (shown below, right), which received roughly 3 million plays and 193,000 likes in three months.

On January 14th, 2024, the trend saw a resurgence on TikTok^[4] after user @shelbyywilfong shared a video doing the test with her boyfriend (shown below, left) that quickly amassed over 16 million plays and 2 million likes in two days. Her video inspired other users to test the theory, like TikTok^[5] user @kyleandjade_, who tried the relationship theory with her husband on January 15th (shown below, right), amassing more than 6 million plays and 1.4 million likes in one day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References