Should we hype our partners? Elle magazine’s celebration of the “hype boyfriend” has me wondering. These cheerleaders for their other halves are a wholesome flipside to “wife guys” (performatively uxorious men showing off their fidelity and general greatness). Travis Kelce is one, for his proud support for Taylor Swift; so is the actor Barry Keoghan, for the pop star and actor Sabrina Carpenter. Tom Holland, “the original hype boyfriend”, is singled out for several years’ worth of celebrating Zendaya’s ascent to global superstardom, accompanying her to events and posting a picture of her Met Gala outfit “captioned with love-heart-eye emojis”, says Elle. “A masterclass in hype from afar.”
I agree there is something “unashamedly joyful” about men not merely at ease with, but delighted by, their partners’ accomplishments. Having read the poet Maggie Smith on how her husband’s discomfort with her success contributed to their marriage ending, hype boyfriends are a heartening corrective.
