I Can Fix Him

2019Catchphrase / text-based memesemi-active

Also known as: I Can Fix Her · I Could Fix Him

I Can Fix Him is a 2019 catchphrase meme rooted in the romantic fantasy of changing a flawed partner, used ironically on fictional characters and public figures.

"I Can Fix Him" is a catchphrase meme rooted in the age-old romantic trope of believing you can change a flawed partner through love. Originating as a Twitter joke in 2019, the phrase went viral in 2021 when users began applying it ironically to fictional characters and public figures who are clearly beyond saving. The meme's staying power comes from its flexible format, spawning variations like "I can fix her," "I can make him worse," and even a Taylor Swift song title.

fandom shipping memes2021 memescharacter archetype memesironic memescatchphrase memes

TL;DR

I Can Fix Him a meme expressing overly optimistic belief that one can change or fix a problematic partner or person.

Overview

The meme plays on a well-known relationship trope: the belief that your love alone can reform a terrible person into boyfriend or girlfriend material4. In its meme form, "I can fix him" is applied to characters or real people whose behavior is so extreme, violent, or unhinged that the idea of "fixing" them is absurd on its face. Think serial killers, supervillains, and dictators. The humor lies in the gap between the earnest romantic optimism of the phrase and the obviously irredeemable nature of the subject5.

The format typically pairs the text "I can fix him" (or "I could fix him") with an image of someone displaying dangerous, psychopathic, or deeply antisocial behavior. A popular subformat adds a second line, "him:", followed by an image or description of the person in question doing something terrible4.

The underlying trope predates the internet by centuries. TV Tropes catalogued it as "I Can Change My Beloved" in December 2010, describing the archetype of a person who believes their love will transform a terrible partner3. The trope shows up across anime, comics, film, and literature, from *The Simpsons* to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*3.

The meme version started on Twitter. On February 10, 2019, user @mmadinab posted what Know Your Meme identifies as the earliest viral joke parodying the trope4. The tweet picked up over 2,100 retweets and 4,400 likes within two years. On October 1, 2019, user @okayslutty reposted the same joke, and this version went wider, spreading through reposts across Twitter and Instagram4.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (earliest viral joke), Tumblr (major spread)
Creator
@mmadinab
Date
2019
Year
2019

The underlying trope predates the internet by centuries. TV Tropes catalogued it as "I Can Change My Beloved" in December 2010, describing the archetype of a person who believes their love will transform a terrible partner. The trope shows up across anime, comics, film, and literature, from *The Simpsons* to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*.

The meme version started on Twitter. On February 10, 2019, user @mmadinab posted what Know Your Meme identifies as the earliest viral joke parodying the trope. The tweet picked up over 2,100 retweets and 4,400 likes within two years. On October 1, 2019, user @okayslutty reposted the same joke, and this version went wider, spreading through reposts across Twitter and Instagram.

How It Spread

The meme gained momentum in late 2019, boosted by the release of the *Joker* film. On October 9, 2019, just one week after the movie's premiere, Twitter user @TamiDaBushPilot joked about "fixing" the Joker. That post pulled in over 4,900 retweets and 39,500 likes before being deleted, and screenshots kept circulating for months.

Through 2020, the phrase popped up in political and pop culture contexts. In April 2020, @JordanUhl applied the gender-flipped version to a photo of an anti-mask protestor, writing "I think I could fix her". In September 2020, @CosmonautMarcus made a joke about Stormfront from *The Boys*, earning over 7,700 likes.

The real explosion came in spring 2021. On March 5, 2021, @nectarina12 posted a version that blew up to over 17,400 retweets and 223,100 likes. On April 11, Tumblr user teio posted "i don't suffer from i could fix him disease. i think i could make him worse," which racked up over 59,300 notes and introduced a popular counter-phrase. On April 19, @lindseylouwho's tweet hit 7,600 retweets and 40,100 likes.

The format peaked on May 1, 2021, when @kuroskiz posted a version about *Total Drama* character Chris McLean that earned over 35,000 retweets and 262,300 likes. This specific post also established the "I can fix him / him:" subformat, where the second line reveals the horrifying subject. Throughout May and June 2021, the catchphrase saw heavy use across Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

One cultural essay on Substack described the meme as "a curious development in the midst of the post-ironic era of meme culture," noting the uncomfortable earnestness buried under layers of irony. As the author put it, "the buried implicit promise within the meme is, 'through your recomposition of mass, through your baptism, you will become acceptable and intimate'".

Platforms

TwitterTikTokRedditInstagram

Timeline

2023

I can fix him meme gains popularity

2023

Becomes commentary on relationship culture

2024

Remains active meme in dating discourse

2025-01-01

I Can Fix Him is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The meme is flexible and works in a few common ways:

1

Simple caption: Post a photo or screenshot of a clearly terrible character or person. Caption it "I can fix him" or "I can fix her." The worse the subject, the funnier it lands.

2

Two-part format: Write "I can fix him" as the setup, then follow with "him:" and an image or description showing exactly how unfixable the person is.

3

Counter-memes: Flip the script entirely. Instead of "I can fix him," write "I can make him worse" for a character who's already bad but could theoretically get worse. This version works well for morally grey or chaotic characters.

4

Self-aware version: Use the phrase about yourself or a real-life crush, leaning into the delusion. The humor here is in admitting you know it's a bad idea.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The phrase crossed over from meme into mainstream pop culture when Taylor Swift released "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" as a track on *The Tortured Poets Department* in 2024. The song uses Wild West imagery to describe trying to tame a bad boy, widely believed to reference The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Swift's lyrics, "they shake their heads sayin', 'God, help her' / when I tell 'em he's my man / but your good Lord doesn't need to lift a finger / I can fix him, no, really, I can," directly play on the meme's language. The song also echoes her earlier "Blank Space" line, "I can make the bad guys good for a weekend," tying Swift's recurring thematic interest to the meme's core joke.

Urban Dictionary entries for the phrase define it as a "female syndrome" where someone focuses their energy on correcting a partner's flaws, often comparing it to the fable of The Frog and the Scorpion. The definitions range from tongue-in-cheek to genuinely cautionary, reflecting how the phrase operates on multiple levels of sincerity.

Fun Facts

The TV Tropes page for the underlying trope, "I Can Change My Beloved," was created in December 2010, nearly a decade before the meme version took off.

The trope appears in media ranging from *Code Geass* to Batman comics to *My Hero Academia*, where Ibara expresses interest in "taming" Bakugo.

Tumblr user teio's "I can make him worse" twist became almost as popular as the original format, adding a villain-coded alternative for people who didn't want to play hero.

The @kuroskiz tweet about *Total Drama*'s Chris McLean is the single highest-engagement version of the meme, with over 262,300 likes.

One Substack essay called the meme a window into "the great psychic tummy ache" of modern relationships and post-ironic culture.

Derivatives & Variations

I can fix her variations

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Extended fixing scenarios

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Self-aware relationship memes

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Frequently Asked Questions

I Can Fix Him

2019Catchphrase / text-based memesemi-active

Also known as: I Can Fix Her · I Could Fix Him

I Can Fix Him is a 2019 catchphrase meme rooted in the romantic fantasy of changing a flawed partner, used ironically on fictional characters and public figures.

"I Can Fix Him" is a catchphrase meme rooted in the age-old romantic trope of believing you can change a flawed partner through love. Originating as a Twitter joke in 2019, the phrase went viral in 2021 when users began applying it ironically to fictional characters and public figures who are clearly beyond saving. The meme's staying power comes from its flexible format, spawning variations like "I can fix her," "I can make him worse," and even a Taylor Swift song title.

fandom shipping memes 2021 memes character archetype memes ironic memes catchphrase memes

TL;DR

I Can Fix Him a meme expressing overly optimistic belief that one can change or fix a problematic partner or person.

Overview

The meme plays on a well-known relationship trope: the belief that your love alone can reform a terrible person into boyfriend or girlfriend material. In its meme form, "I can fix him" is applied to characters or real people whose behavior is so extreme, violent, or unhinged that the idea of "fixing" them is absurd on its face. Think serial killers, supervillains, and dictators. The humor lies in the gap between the earnest romantic optimism of the phrase and the obviously irredeemable nature of the subject.

The format typically pairs the text "I can fix him" (or "I could fix him") with an image of someone displaying dangerous, psychopathic, or deeply antisocial behavior. A popular subformat adds a second line, "him:", followed by an image or description of the person in question doing something terrible.

The underlying trope predates the internet by centuries. TV Tropes catalogued it as "I Can Change My Beloved" in December 2010, describing the archetype of a person who believes their love will transform a terrible partner. The trope shows up across anime, comics, film, and literature, from *The Simpsons* to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*.

The meme version started on Twitter. On February 10, 2019, user @mmadinab posted what Know Your Meme identifies as the earliest viral joke parodying the trope. The tweet picked up over 2,100 retweets and 4,400 likes within two years. On October 1, 2019, user @okayslutty reposted the same joke, and this version went wider, spreading through reposts across Twitter and Instagram.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (earliest viral joke), Tumblr (major spread)
Creator
@mmadinab
Date
2019
Year
2019

The underlying trope predates the internet by centuries. TV Tropes catalogued it as "I Can Change My Beloved" in December 2010, describing the archetype of a person who believes their love will transform a terrible partner. The trope shows up across anime, comics, film, and literature, from *The Simpsons* to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*.

The meme version started on Twitter. On February 10, 2019, user @mmadinab posted what Know Your Meme identifies as the earliest viral joke parodying the trope. The tweet picked up over 2,100 retweets and 4,400 likes within two years. On October 1, 2019, user @okayslutty reposted the same joke, and this version went wider, spreading through reposts across Twitter and Instagram.

How It Spread

The meme gained momentum in late 2019, boosted by the release of the *Joker* film. On October 9, 2019, just one week after the movie's premiere, Twitter user @TamiDaBushPilot joked about "fixing" the Joker. That post pulled in over 4,900 retweets and 39,500 likes before being deleted, and screenshots kept circulating for months.

Through 2020, the phrase popped up in political and pop culture contexts. In April 2020, @JordanUhl applied the gender-flipped version to a photo of an anti-mask protestor, writing "I think I could fix her". In September 2020, @CosmonautMarcus made a joke about Stormfront from *The Boys*, earning over 7,700 likes.

The real explosion came in spring 2021. On March 5, 2021, @nectarina12 posted a version that blew up to over 17,400 retweets and 223,100 likes. On April 11, Tumblr user teio posted "i don't suffer from i could fix him disease. i think i could make him worse," which racked up over 59,300 notes and introduced a popular counter-phrase. On April 19, @lindseylouwho's tweet hit 7,600 retweets and 40,100 likes.

The format peaked on May 1, 2021, when @kuroskiz posted a version about *Total Drama* character Chris McLean that earned over 35,000 retweets and 262,300 likes. This specific post also established the "I can fix him / him:" subformat, where the second line reveals the horrifying subject. Throughout May and June 2021, the catchphrase saw heavy use across Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

One cultural essay on Substack described the meme as "a curious development in the midst of the post-ironic era of meme culture," noting the uncomfortable earnestness buried under layers of irony. As the author put it, "the buried implicit promise within the meme is, 'through your recomposition of mass, through your baptism, you will become acceptable and intimate'".

Platforms

TwitterTikTokRedditInstagram

Timeline

2023

I can fix him meme gains popularity

2023

Becomes commentary on relationship culture

2024

Remains active meme in dating discourse

2025-01-01

I Can Fix Him is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The meme is flexible and works in a few common ways:

1

Simple caption: Post a photo or screenshot of a clearly terrible character or person. Caption it "I can fix him" or "I can fix her." The worse the subject, the funnier it lands.

2

Two-part format: Write "I can fix him" as the setup, then follow with "him:" and an image or description showing exactly how unfixable the person is.

3

Counter-memes: Flip the script entirely. Instead of "I can fix him," write "I can make him worse" for a character who's already bad but could theoretically get worse. This version works well for morally grey or chaotic characters.

4

Self-aware version: Use the phrase about yourself or a real-life crush, leaning into the delusion. The humor here is in admitting you know it's a bad idea.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The phrase crossed over from meme into mainstream pop culture when Taylor Swift released "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" as a track on *The Tortured Poets Department* in 2024. The song uses Wild West imagery to describe trying to tame a bad boy, widely believed to reference The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Swift's lyrics, "they shake their heads sayin', 'God, help her' / when I tell 'em he's my man / but your good Lord doesn't need to lift a finger / I can fix him, no, really, I can," directly play on the meme's language. The song also echoes her earlier "Blank Space" line, "I can make the bad guys good for a weekend," tying Swift's recurring thematic interest to the meme's core joke.

Urban Dictionary entries for the phrase define it as a "female syndrome" where someone focuses their energy on correcting a partner's flaws, often comparing it to the fable of The Frog and the Scorpion. The definitions range from tongue-in-cheek to genuinely cautionary, reflecting how the phrase operates on multiple levels of sincerity.

Fun Facts

The TV Tropes page for the underlying trope, "I Can Change My Beloved," was created in December 2010, nearly a decade before the meme version took off.

The trope appears in media ranging from *Code Geass* to Batman comics to *My Hero Academia*, where Ibara expresses interest in "taming" Bakugo.

Tumblr user teio's "I can make him worse" twist became almost as popular as the original format, adding a villain-coded alternative for people who didn't want to play hero.

The @kuroskiz tweet about *Total Drama*'s Chris McLean is the single highest-engagement version of the meme, with over 262,300 likes.

One Substack essay called the meme a window into "the great psychic tummy ache" of modern relationships and post-ironic culture.

Derivatives & Variations

I can fix her variations

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Extended fixing scenarios

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Self-aware relationship memes

A variation of I Can Fix Him

(2023)

Frequently Asked Questions