The ‘I’m a Mommy’ Meme From Love Island USA Season 7 Has a Life of Its Own

If you are one of the maybe half-dozen people in the United States who is not watching Love Island USA season 7, you may be confused by the “I’m a mommy” audio and memes currently all over social media. The sound comes from a conversation on Love Island USA, but it has now taken on a life of its own.

On TikTok, it usually begins with one person lip-synching the words, “I’m a mommy,” and cutting to a second person who replies, “Mamacita,” and so on. Elsewhere on the internet, the viral conversation has been repurposed into IYKYK-style comments, usernames, and even branding opportunities.

Though the original conversation is already a week old, the “I’m a mommy” memes have only gotten started. Let us explain in this edition of TL;DR.

Give Me the TL;DRThe audio originates from episode 12 of Love Island USA season 7, in which one Islander, Huda, decides to tell a fellow-Islander, Nic, that she’s a single mom. The interaction hilariously goes back in forth when Nic fails to understand what Huda means when she says, “I’m a mommy.” First he seems to think she’s joking, and responds with “mamacita” and then, “mommy?” Then he asks, “Mom of what? A dog?” and Huda has to clarify that she is a mommy to a “real, human child.”

There are usually a few absurd moments in every episode of Love Island that catch on with the internet. But this particular conversation hit different. Soon, it was being reposted all over TikTok and quoted on X, before it became the meme it is today. On some platforms, users quote the moment over pictures of their dogs. On others, creators use the audio as a voice-over to recreate the convo with their own friends.

How did the memes start?One of the earliest popular videos to use the “I’m a mommy” audio as a meme was actually the official TikTok account for the Empire State Building in New York City. With the text, “Me to any NYC building built after me,” the video makes it look like the Empire State Building is saying, “I’m a mommy,” and the other buildings are the ones responding, “Mamacita.” Then, it became a trend.

On X, people started quoting “mamacita” over pictures of their pets or using it as shorthand to refer to Nic. Even the official Love Island USA account has been getting in on the action.

Who is doing the “I’m a mommy” memes?At this point, everyone. Ahead of her special appearance on the show, Megan Thee Stallion and host Ariana Madix recreated the audio meme, with Madix doing Huda’s part and Meg doing Nic’s responses.

Other famous faces to jump on the trend are Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, who posted their own interpretation on June 21.

“Made him do this at dinner in Paris,” Rogers captioned the video. Riverdale actor Lili Reinhart did her own version of the meme, while holding her dog in her lap.

On other platforms, even brands started getting in on the action. On Instagram, PetSmart quoted the meme with a picture of a woman and her dog.

Will anyone still care about this in two weeks?We’re just saying, expect to see more of this content as the Love Island USA season continues.