The Boys Lie Founders Know How To Build A Brand Out Of Heartbreak

“We do always say, ‘Boys lie, men don't,’” Leah O’Malley, one of Boys Lie’s co-founders, says matter-of-factly over Zoom. Both she and Tori Robinson are in long-term committed relationships that would seemingly belie their lifestyle brand’s pointed message. But at its core, the brand is about heartbreak, not blame.

O’Malley and Robinson created Boys Lie in 2018, inspired by their painful college breakups. It started as a cosmetics brand, but it was the apparel that got everyone’s attention. “Leah and I were working two jobs, and we'd go to the T-shirt bar, press a couple hoodies, and ship them out ourselves,” Robinson, 30, says. “It wasn't until we were about to shut down our business that Gigi Hadid wore a Boys Lie sweatsuit. The brand literally took off from there.” (Hadid wore it in October 2019, right after her breakup with Bachelorette heartthrob Tyler Cameron.)

Since then, the Boys Lie brand has become a go-to for heartbroken it girls everywhere. “We have that very strong core DNA that everybody can relate to. Heartbreak is never-ending,” O’Malley, 30, says. “With Boys Lie, you’re literally wearing your heart on your sleeve. It gives people a voice without them having to actually say anything.” TL;DR, a Boys Lie sweatshirt is worth a thousand words. Ariana Madix wore the brand mid-Scandoval, and Megan Fox wore it while running errands amid her widely-speculated-about relationship with MGK.

With regular launches and timely collabs, Boys Lie has been keeping its customers dressed through every stage of heartbreak. In July, they released a collection with country star Megan Moroney, framed around Moroney’s lyric, “Houston, he’s a problem.” The brand’s latest drop was Aug. 8, and there’s another round of newness coming in September.

Below, Robinson and O’Malley discuss how they built a brand off of boys being disappointing, what it’s like to work with celebrities, and the wildest stories they’ve heard from customers — including Alix Earle.

Elite Daily: You essentially made a company out of heartache. Can you tell me more about the brand’s origin story?

Tori Robinson: Leah and I grew up down the street from each other, but we didn't become close until college when our then-boyfriends were best friends. Our friendship flourished from there. We ended up breaking up with both of them, but enjoyed our college years together. We saw each other through some really crazy rodeos of relationships. That's what inspired the initial push of Boys Lie.

Leah O’Malley: After we broke up with those two boys, the phrase “boys lie” became a mantra to us. At one point, we looked at each other and were like, “Boys Lie is such a great name. We should do something with it.”

ED: You have this saying in the brand’s IG bio: “Boys fall in love with what they see, girls fall in love with what they hear. That’s why girls wear makeup & Boys Lie.” Is that where the brand name came from?

TR: Actually, we initially saw the saying on Kendall Jenner’s Instagram. She posted this picture, laying across a dirty car with “boys lie” written in the dirt.

LO: That quote has trails all throughout Hollywood. It’s attributed to Wiz Khalifa, but there’s no hard evidence of him saying it. Still, it resonates so well because it’s the truth.

TR: When we heard it, we were like, "Oh my God, that fits perfectly for branding.”

ED: You’ve had some iconic celebs wear your items, often leading to viral moments. Ariana Madix even wore your brand for the Vanderpump Rules reunion. How did that happen?

LO: I am a huge reality TV girlie. I've been watching Bravo since high school. So when Scandoval happened, I felt like my world was crashing down. I was so invested in all these people.

Right after it went down, we got an email from Ariana’s stylist, Emily Men, and the subject line was, “Ariana Madix Vanderpump Reunion Boys Lie." We sent over everything we could.

Boys Lie has somehow become this piece that women gravitate to when they are going through public breakups.

TR: When people pull for styling from us, it doesn't guarantee that they'll wear it. We just put a prayer in the air.

LO: We were checking paparazzi pictures the whole day of the reunion. When she wore the Boys Lie sweats, it was a huge moment for us. We sold out of that set the same day.

ED: Brooke Schofield is a more recent example. Were you surprised to see her wearing your sweatshirt during her responses to the Clinton Kane videos?

LO: We’re really good friends with Brooke. So, when she wore it in those videos, I thought it was iconic. Boys Lie has somehow become this piece that women gravitate to when they are going through public breakups, which is wild.

TR: It's beautiful. It's such a confidence piece that people get to put on and feel strong.

ED: Do you have a favorite item that you sell?

TR: The “1-800-Boys-Lie” sweatshirt with the back that says, "We're sorry. The number you are trying to reach has moved on." That one is so good. It's constantly a fan favorite.

ED: Have customers ever shared their personal stories with you — either why they bought the brand, or what happened while they were wearing it?

TR: We met Alix Earle at the People's Choice Awards, and she told us that her boyfriend, Braxton Berrios, sometimes hates when she wears Boys Lie. But shortly after, he became a fan and now he wears the hat religiously.

LO: We've also had girls submit stories, telling us, "I broke up with him while I was wearing my 1-800 sweatshirt.” I love that.

ED: You have the Boys Lie podcast, too. When did you come up with that idea?

TR: Leah always wanted to do a podcast, but I was super hesitant to get into that space. Over the past year, though, it started making more sense, now that we've hired the right people to help us on the operations side of things. We wanted to get back into personifying the brand, and the podcast was the best way to do that.

LO: There's also never-ending content because there are always stories being submitted. It’s cool because it gives our customers a voice.

ED: What has been the wildest story you’ve heard on the show?

TR: We had one married woman who just caught her husband cheating. He was a police officer in San Diego, and she sent all of the messages — the proof of him cheating — to the police station.

ED: TikTok is full of dating mantras and rules. What do you make of them?

TR: It depends. Some of the advice helps people create boundaries. That's a beautiful and great thing.

LO: It’s not a one-size-fits-all. Not every person is the same and not every situation is the same. But I do think a lot of the ones I’ve seen — “If he wanted to, he would” or even Tinx’s Box Theory — are very true.

ED: How did the collab with Megan Moroney happen?

TR: It’s funny. I feel like the world — especially in LA — just gets smaller and smaller. The person who actually signed Megan with Sony Records dated my fiancé's sister. So when Megan started wearing Boys Lie religiously, her manager got my number and suggested collabing.

LO: We're very picky about who we collab with. You never know what celebrities are going to be like in person. But Megan was nothing but sweet, kind, and gracious. It was really, really fun.

TR: She's so bubbly and down to earth, too. She's a girl's girl for sure.

ED: That’s such a small world connection. Is that how your collabs usually happen?

TR: It usually comes from people being fans of what Boys Lie represents — wearing your heart on your sleeve. Everyone's had so many different types of heartbreak in their life. With Megan, it was easy for her to lean into that.

LO: Obviously, being a singer-songwriter, Megan writes about heartbreak already. So it was a no-brainer for us to work together.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.