# The Ick > The Ick is dating slang popularized by Love Island's Olivia Attwood in 2017, transformed into a TikTok meme format where users share absurdly specific turn-offs with #TheIck. The Ick is dating slang for the sudden, overwhelming feeling of repulsion toward someone you were previously attracted to. The term traces back to 1990s TV shows like *Friends* and *Ally McBeal*, but it exploded into mainstream internet culture after *Love Island* contestant Olivia Attwood used it in 2017[1]. By 2020, TikTok turned it into a full-blown meme format where users share increasingly absurd and specific turn-offs, with the hashtag #TheIck racking up over 157 million views on the platform[9]. ## Origin The word "ick" as an expression of disgust goes back to at least the 1940s, with roots in 1930s jazz slang where "icky" described overly sentimental music[6]. But the specific phrase "the ick" in a dating context first showed up on television. On May 4th, 1995, *Friends* aired "The One with the Ick Factor," where Monica discovers the guy she's been dating is actually a high school senior[3]. Three years later, a 1999 episode of *Ally McBeal* had the title character describe losing attraction to someone as "the ick," using it to mean "just not meant to be"[9]. *Sex and the City* followed in January 2004 with its own "Ick Factor" episode, where Carrie debates whether Aleksandr Petrovsky's romantic gestures are charming or repulsive[8]. These TV moments planted the seed, but the term stayed mostly dormant for over a decade. That changed in June 2017 during Season 3 of the UK reality show *Love Island*. Contestant Olivia Attwood described her collapsing attraction to Sam Gowland: "When you've seen a boy and got the ick, it doesn't go. It's caught you, and it's taken over your body. It's just ick. I can't shake it off"[9]. The quote struck a nerve. On June 13th, 2017, Twitter user @sophiejohn03 tweeted "olivia's just described that so well the ick ruins everything forever"[3]. On June 16th, Urban Dictionary user bbbbbx added a definition that picked up over 274 upvotes[3]. - **Platform:** *Friends* / *Ally McBeal* (TV coinage), *Love Island* UK (modern popularization), TikTok (meme format) - **Creator:** Olivia Attwood (popularized modern usage on *Love Island* 2017) - **Date:** 1995 (TV origin), 2017 (modern viral usage) ## Overview The Ick describes that gut-level cringe that hits when someone you're dating does something that instantly kills your attraction. It's not about big red flags or dealbreakers. It's the guy who fumbles picking up a dropped coin[5]. The girl whose feet don't reach the floor when she sits down[7]. Someone who says "whoopsie" or does the wave at a baseball game[8]. The behavior itself is usually completely normal. That's the whole point. What separates the Ick from just losing interest is its physicality. People describe it as a full-body recoil, a visceral disgust response that makes physical contact feel unbearable[2]. Once it sets in, it's widely considered irreversible. As relationship counsellor Gurpreet Singh from Relate puts it, "The ick is much more repulsive. It's a very strong gut reaction"[5]. Online, the Ick became a participatory meme format. Users compete to name the most oddly specific, relatable, or absurd triggers. The humor comes from the gap between how trivial the behavior is and how catastrophically it ends the attraction. ## How It Spread After Attwood's *Love Island* moment, the Ick became part of the show's recurring vocabulary. During Season 6 in 2020, contestant Leanne Amaning famously caught the Ick for Mike Boateng, and the term was picked up widely by viewers and press[2]. The real explosion came on TikTok in June 2020. Users started posting videos under the hashtag #TheIck, sharing and debating their most specific turn-offs[3]. On June 15th, TikToker fizzzabella posted a video calling her partner's love of milk an ick. On June 28th, TikToker ughitsjessy compiled crowd-sourced ick responses and pulled in over 16,600 likes. By July, TikToker tommirose was sharing strategies for deliberately giving yourself the Ick to get over someone[3]. Media coverage snowballed. The Tab, The Independent, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, and StayHipp all published explainer articles[3]. The Independent consulted psychologists and relationship coaches to dissect why the Ick happens[2]. Vogue ran a deep dive noting that 64% of people report having experienced it[8]. By 2022, the hashtag #TheIck hit 157 million views on TikTok[9]. Instagram accounts dedicated to collecting icks popped up. Singer and podcaster Jack Remmington built a following of 50,000 on Instagram by running weekly "Wildest Ick Wednesday" posts where followers submit their most unhinged examples[9]. According to Remmington, "Even if an ick feels really unique, there are always people responding saying 'that's happened to me too!' So it's almost like the ick is an in-joke in itself"[9]. The format also spread beyond romance. Searches for "friendship ick" increased by 33%, with common platonic icks including lateness, flakiness, and bad table manners[5]. The term even reached British politics. Labour leader Keir Starmer dropped the word during Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament[9]. ## How to Use The Ick works as a social media format in a few common ways: **List format:** Users post "Things that give me the ick" followed by a list of hyper-specific behaviors. The funnier and more oddly specific, the better. Common examples include: running for a bus, sampling ice cream from a tiny spoon, or using a baby voice while petting a dog[8]. **Video format (TikTok):** Film yourself reacting to or describing ick scenarios. Often uses trending sounds. The hashtag #TheIck is the standard tag[3]. **Crowdsourced format:** Ask your followers to share their icks, then compile and react to the responses. This is the format that drives the most engagement[9]. **Conversation starter:** In group chats and dating discussions, "What's your ick?" works as a casual prompt. The goal is usually comedy rather than genuine advice. The unwritten rule is that a true ick should be something objectively harmless. If it's a legitimate red flag (aggression, dishonesty), it's not really an ick. The humor depends on the absurd contrast between a totally normal behavior and the extreme disgust reaction it triggers. ## Cultural Impact The Ick jumped from internet slang to mainstream culture faster than most dating terms. Major publications including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, The Independent, and Refinery29 ran explainer pieces and consulted psychologists[2][5][8]. The term hit Parliament when Keir Starmer referenced it during political debate[9]. The 2025 Azusa Pacific University study marked the Ick's entry into academic psychology, published in the journal *Personality and Individual Differences*[7]. The research drew coverage from outlets like DW and LatestLY, treating the Ick as a real object of scientific inquiry rather than just a meme. The Ick also pushed relationship therapy into the spotlight. Multiple therapists built public profiles by commenting on it. Sexologist Sofie Roos, therapist Matt Hussey, and relationship counsellor Gurpreet Singh all became quotable experts on a concept that started as reality TV slang[5][8]. TV show *Nobody Wants This* incorporated the Ick into its dialogue, with the line "You can't fight the ick" reflecting how deeply the term had embedded itself in dating culture[8]. ## Fun Facts - The Ick isn't uniquely human psychology. Psychologist Josh Rottman suggests it may be rooted in the evolutionary disgust mechanism that originally evolved to keep humans safe from disease[6]. - Someone submitted "lorries without the cargo bit at the back attached" as an ick to Jack Remmington's Instagram, proving the concept can extend beyond humans entirely[9]. - The word "icky" likely started as baby talk in the early 20th century before entering jazz slang in the 1930s, where it described music that was too sentimental[6]. - *Sex and the City*'s "Ick Factor" episode in 2004 was the most nuanced early TV treatment: Carrie genuinely couldn't decide if Aleksandr's behavior was romantic or cringe[8]. - Women are both more familiar with the Ick concept and report experiencing it more frequently than men, according to the 2025 Azusa Pacific study[7]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Ick? The Ick is a sudden, visceral feeling of repulsion toward someone you were previously attracted to, usually triggered by a small or seemingly insignificant behavior[2]. ### Where did the Ick come from? The phrase first appeared on TV in 1995 on *Friends* and 1999 on *Ally McBeal*, but Olivia Attwood popularized the modern usage during Season 3 of *Love Island* UK in 2017[3][8]. ### What does the Ick mean? It describes the moment attraction dies and is replaced by a cringe response so strong that physical contact feels unbearable. As defined by Dr. Becky Spelman, it's "the sudden onset of the feeling that a person to whom one was previously attracted is suddenly unattractive to the point where physical contact seems revolting"[2]. ### How do you use the Ick? Online, people share lists or videos of oddly specific behaviors that trigger repulsion, using the hashtag #TheIck on TikTok. In conversation, "I got the ick" means you've lost attraction to someone you were dating[3][4]. ### Is the Ick still popular? Yes. The hashtag #TheIck amassed over 157 million views on TikTok[9], the concept was the subject of a 2025 peer-reviewed psychology study[7], and mainstream outlets like Vogue were still publishing deep dives on it as of 2025[8]. ### Who coined the Ick? While *Friends* used "ick factor" in 1995 and *Ally McBeal* used the phrase in 1999, Olivia Attwood is credited with coining the modern dating-specific usage on *Love Island* in 2017[6][9]. ### Can you get over the Ick? Therapists are split. Relationship counsellor Gurpreet Singh says minor icks can be worked through, but if you can't tolerate someone touching your hand, "it's not something you can continue to put up with"[5]. Dating expert Hayley Quinn notes the Ick sometimes reflects your own fear of intimacy rather than a real problem with the other person[5]. ### Why do women experience the Ick more than men? The 2025 Azusa Pacific study found women reported higher frequency of the Ick, which researchers attributed to "heightened sensitivity to relational risks"[7]. Women were also more familiar with the concept, likely due to the term's spread through female-dominated dating content online. ### Is the Ick the same as just losing interest? No. Losing interest is gradual and can happen for clear reasons. The Ick is sudden, physical, and often triggered by something trivially small. Dr. Spelman notes it typically occurs "after a period of mutual attraction, and before the relationship has had time to mature"[2]. ### What are common examples of the Ick? Vogue compiled examples from TikTok including: doing the wave at a baseball game, hopping over a puddle, sampling ice cream from a tiny spoon, starting a lawnmower, getting off a chairlift, running for a bus, using a baby voice while petting a dog, and saying "whoopsie"[8]. ### Is the Ick backed by science? A 2025 study published in *Personality and Individual Differences* found that people higher in narcissism, perfectionism, and disgust sensitivity were more prone to the Ick[7]. Researchers also identified common trigger categories including gender incongruence, public embarrassment, and fashion choices[7]. ### Can the Ick happen in friendships? Yes. The concept expanded beyond romance, with searches for "friendship ick" rising 33%. Common platonic icks include lateness, rudeness, flakiness, and bragging[5]. ### Is there a way to deliberately trigger the Ick? TikToker tommirose popularized a technique in July 2020 for intentionally giving yourself the Ick to get over a crush, which gained traction as a breakup coping strategy[3]. ## References 1. [A psychologist explains why we get 'the ick' in relationships]() 2. [Love Island: What is ‘the ick’ and how does it develop? | The Independent]() 3. [The Ick: Why You're Suddenly Repulsed In Relationship]() 4. [The Ick - Know Your Meme]() 5. [6-7 meme]() 6. [The Ick - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [The ick: What is ‘the ick’ and what to do if you get it?]() 8. [ick meaning, origin, example, sentence, etymology]() 9. [Psychologists Uncover Why You Get 'the Ick' in Relationships | 🔬 LatestLY]() 10. [What Is “the Ick“? The Truth About Instant Disgust in Dating | Vogue]() 11. [What is the Ick and Why You Get to Feel It • Dumb Little Man]() 12. ['The ick' has taken over social media, turning dating pet peeves into memes. But the internet's most relatable trend may be on its way out.]() 13. [A psychologist explains why we get 'the ick' in relationships]() 14. [StayHipp: Culture, Internet Trends, Social Media & News - stayhipp.com]() 15. [Love Island: What is ‘the ick’ and how does it develop? | The Independent]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/the-ick Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library