The Shoe Theory On TikTok Can Predict Breakups

‘Tis the season of giving — and surreptitiously returning your SO’s gift before the holiday because TikTok decided it was cursed. Yep, hopefully you kept that receipt, because a new viral phenomenon is warning against one specific gift between couples. The shoe theory on TikTok predicts dire consequences for gifting your partner footwear. Specifically, the app says that giving the gift of shoes will lead to a breakup.

The superstition didn’t originate on the app — avoiding the gift is actually a common Chinese tradition. “I have been hearing about the shoe theory from my mom since I was young,” one creator @angela.chaan explained in a December 2022. “It essentially says that if you gift someone a pair of shoes, they will eventually walk out on you.”

At the time, the TikToker added, “In Chinese, the word for shoes sounds the same as the pronunciation for bad luck,” and so the shoe theory was born. And it seems that every holiday season, it gains traction all over again.

On Dec. 5, TikToker @shanmunson.x brought the idea back to virality, “when you bought him a pair of shoes for Christmas, but just remembered the ‘shoe theory.’” As of publication, the video has over 6.4 million views.

Now, the #shoetheory hashtag has 31.9 million views total, with plenty of the videos devoted to explaining the superstition and users recalling how it’s shown up in their own lives.

Once the theory went viral, creators started second-guessing their gift ideas. “I don’t know what to do about these shoes now. I bought the shoes for him a while ago, so I can’t return them now,” one TikToker @jessicageary1 confessed.

And yet she wasn’t able to dismiss the theory as mere superstition. “I bought my ex-boyfriend shoes for Christmas, and guess what? He left me a couple months after,” she said. “Now, do I need to burn the shoes I got my boyfriend for Christmas? They were expensive though. What do I do?”

If you’re in a similar position, there is a somewhat common solution to this problem: Have your SO pay you $1 for the shoes. That way, it’s not really a gift, and no bad luck will befall your relationship. “My mom told me this when my bf first gifted me shoes lol I had to technically ‘buy’ the shoes off my bf for $1 and that’s what we’ve been doing since,” TikToker izzle.b explained in the comments section of one shoe theory video.

Others seem less convinced that the theory had any merit. As one commenter eloquently put it, “Y’all tripping.” Another TikToker, @brookejamesxx, posted a video about the concept. “I keep seeing the ‘shoe theory’ it’s NOT REAL if your [sic] in a STABLE HAPPY RELATIONSHIP,” she wrote in her video.

Then again, one TikTok (posted by kksparkleprincess) pointed out that Taylor Swift seems to buy into the idea. “taylor swift confirmed that the shoe theory is real with this line,” she wrote, pairing it with a clip from “Bejeweled.”

In the song, Swift sings, “Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind / Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind / In the shoes I gave you as a present.”

Even if you don’t believe in bad omens, there’s no harm in taking this as your sign to remove “new shoes” from your holiday wish list.