“I’m at a point where I’m mourning the loss of ten years of my life.”
In February 2013, Sophie met a man in a bar who would later become her boyfriend. Just like any romantic comedy scenario, the pair started going out on dates until they realized they wanted to be together. Little did either of them know, that night on the town—a floor full of beer and a conversation with a stranger—would lead to a nine-year relationship. Nor would he have predicted the ending.
In January of this year, Sophie wrote on Reddit: “I’m so sad to lose the person I’ve loved for nine years, but it’s exhausting.” She detailed how her partner started using abusive language and it made her feel insecure. She even began to deny that she was a black person. Her post was captioned: “My boyfriend took her on Tate’s slope.”
In 2023, Andrew Tate ‘s impact is like an octopus and extends far beyond the internet. The influencer’s deeply misogynistic “alpha male” discourse is present in schools, workplaces, and even relationships, despite the fact that he was recently arrested and banned from social media.
The 35-year-old kickboxer and his brother Tristan are currently in police custody until February 27 while authorities investigate allegations of rape and human trafficking – charges they both deny. An investigation by VICE World News obtained audio recordings of Andrew in which he appears to admit to raping a woman in the UK and allegedly brag: “Am I a nasty man? The more you disliked it, the worse it turned me on.”
Tate has built a legion of mostly teenage and young male followers drawn to his motivational self-help videos. But in his viral clips, which are reposted on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, there are claims that rape victims “are responsible” for the abuse they went through; that he prefers to date 18-19 year old girls because he can “make a mark” on them and that women are a man’s property.
Women now hear this kind of thing from their partners. One woman, who asked not to be named out of fear for her safety, was in a six-week relationship with a Tate fan last year. I initially met him at the gym, but then they matched on Tinder, went on dates, and eventually broke up due to several undesirable characteristics, including the fact that he’s a fan of the influencer.
One situation in particular stood out for the 23-year-old woman who lives on the US East Coast. “I tried to open up about the fact that my memories of past sexual abuse were being triggered,” she says. “Before I could even broach the subject, he started talking about Andrew Tate.”
She immediately replied that she would never support someone who said they moved to Romania because they believe the rape laws are more relaxed. He replied: “He’s Top G – he can rape whoever he wants.”
“After that,” she says, “I didn’t feel like I could talk to … more
