Internet Boyfriends Vs. Internet Husbands: The Important Distinction

 Noah Centineo. Timothée Chalamet. Tom Holland. If you have a human heart in 2018 these names might make it flutter. These fresh (hot) faces are the latest in a long line of Internet Boyfriends, a title given to famous baes who adopt a massive online fanbase, seemingly overnight.

Katie Buckleitner The first official Internet Boyfriend™ might be traced back to Sherlock-turned-Marvel superhero Benedict Cumberbatch—whose fans call themselves Cumberbitches, btw—but the phrase has since taken on a mind of its own. There are brackets now! And bae-inspired gift guides!

What you might not know is that some of your Internet Boyfriends are not Internet Boyfriends at all—as time goes by and people evolve, so must our relationships with our favorite regulation hotties. First comes love, then comes marriage, and all that jazz. Introducing, the Internet Husband.

 

What is an Internet Husband?

If you think your Internet crush has developed into something more, see if he fulfills at least two of these three requirements:

1. You know him really well.

When we first begin falling for anyone—famous or otherwise—there is a long getting-to-know-you period. They're a mystery and you find yourself excited to peel back each new layer, while holding yourself back as well. Take Timonthée Chalamet, for example. You probably follow him on Instagram, but do you really know him? If you were to take him on a date (sorry,Lili Rose Depp, this is purely hypothetical) you might have to do some serious stalking beforehand to find an interest you have "in common"...that you researched on google, like, an hour ago.

2. He's already actually someone's husband.

When we fell in love with Ryan Gosling, he was not married with two children. Neither was Ryan Reynolds. Can you truly look at either of these men with their wives and their babies and not want that for yourself? Can you seriously imagine him as anything other than a super sweet, hot dad? No. Idris Elba, Jeff Goldum, etc... same thing.

An Internet Boyfriend is the sexy new fling you want to show off (and maybe get naked with). An Internet Husband is someone you want to cuddle, who makes you feel safe...and you still want to get naked with.

3. They can be themselves with you, too. (relationships are a two way street, guys)

Of course, age is a major factor, but there are outliers. Harry Styles has crossed over into husband territory, purely because he is so open with himself. He trusted his fanbase to come with him when he moved on from One Direction and started creating music that was on a completely opposite spectrum. Not to mention those suits.

In the same vein, Cumberbatch doesn't have to be Sherlock Holmes in public the way Noah Centineo leans into Peter Kavinsky's personality during press. (And that's more than OK, Centineo's still in the courting phase and I pray we never lose his romantic tweets).

But Cumberbatch isn't even close to the people he plays on screen. He's very much his own person, and gives us late night moments like this:

 

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At the end of the day, your relationship with your Internet bae is between you and your God. If you think you and Riz Ahmed are ready for your honeymoon, who am I to tell you otherwise? If you are just getting on board with Chris Evans, where the fuck have you been? But OK, I guess. One thing's for sure: we stan them all.