Wifejak

About

Wifejak, sometimes misspelled Wifejack, is a Wojak variant depicted as a woman with long red hair, a grey sweater, a necklace and freckles that's typically used in memes to portray a stereotypical wife. The character was designed by Redditor u/AvaSpelledBackwards in 2021 and was first used as a meme alongside a caption representing the stereotypical wife as early as July 2022 on X / Twitter, becoming notably popularized on the site in April 2024. Around this same timeframe, another Wojak variant styled as the partner of Wifejak and representative of stereotypical husband behaviors known as "Husbandjak" emerged.

Origin

On January 7th, 2021, Redditor u/AvaSpelledBackwards posted a custom Wojak character based on herself to /r/WojakDrawings,^[1] writing, "Haven’t drawn in a while so I figured a wojak of myself could be a fun little project," garnering around 15 upvotes in three years. She reposted it to /r/WojakTemplate^[2] the next day, garnering around 50 upvotes in the same span of time.

While the first known use of the character as "wifejak" is unclear, the earliest known example was posted by X^[3] user @PaulSkallas on July 17th, 2022. On that day, they posted the image of Wifejak under the caption, "Where are we going this weekend?" meant to represent a typical question that a wife might ask, garnering over 360 likes in two years (shown below).

Spread

The same X user, @PaulSkallas, posted several more examples of the Wifejak meme to X^[4][5] between 2022 and 2023, with the format gaining viral spread in 2024. On April 10th, 2024, X^[6] user @cimmerian_v posted the meme, writing, “I just threw 30 cardboard boxes into the garage," garnering over 730 likes in a day (shown below, left). Later that day, X^[7] user @PlatosGooncave posted a version of the meme that garnered over 630 likes in a day (shown below, right).

That same day, X^[8] user @lindynap posted a version of the meme captioned, "you were supposed to turn there," garnering over 1,600 likes in a day (shown below, left). On April 11th, X^[9] user @TheManlet_King posted a version of the meme about Wifejak replacing her partner's yellow pillow, garnering over 3,900 likes in a day (shown below, right).

On April 12th, X^[10] user @1wayposting posted an AI-generated video edit imposing a depiction of Wifejak over the body of a Lil Yachty walking onto stage to perform, writing, "Wifejak entering the mimetic collective consciousness today," garnering over 90 likes in under an hour (shown below).

Wifejak entering the mimetic collective consciousness today pic.twitter.com/RwTNTxMkjb

— bubby wubby (@1wayposting) April 12, 2024

Husbandjak

On April 12th, 2024, X^[11] user @CartoonsHateHer posted a new Wojak variant meant to be a partner for Wifejak and represent stereotypical husband behaviors known as "Husbandjak," using the caption, "I didn't think you cared about your birthday that much," as if the husband didn't make a big enough deal about his wife's birthday (shown below, left). The post gained over 1,600 likes in under a day.

The meme gained some criticism for being "mean spirited" as opposed to the Wifejak memes. For example, that day, X^[12] user @LittleMammith commented, "I know I normally like your posts, but it feels like this 'husbandjak' comes from a spirit of hatred and disgust. Whereas the wifejak meme (pretty and feminine), when used properly, comes from a spirit of adoration and playful teasing." That same day, X^[13] user @_MedGold posted a long critique of the meme, garnering over 950 likes in under a day (shown below, right).

Later that day, @CartoonsHateHer posted an image to X^[14] "apologizing" for the meme following the backlash, garnering over 800 likes in under a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References