TikTokers are talking about those gut instincts that haunt you. On the app, a sound from the song “Margaret” by Lana Del Rey featuring Bleachers is going viral. In the song, which Jack Antonoff wrote after meeting now-wife Margaret Qualley, Del Rey sings, “When you know, you know / It kinda makes me laugh, runnin' down that path / When you're good, it's gold.” (The audio now has over 31,000 posts.)
The original song plays at the idea of love at first sight, but TikTokers are giving it a new meaning with the “when you know, you know” trend. As users lip sync along to the song, they’ve been sharing their own personal “Roman Empires” — which are often about dating and relationships.
ICYMI, the Roman Empire trend dominated the TikTok algorithm in September after women realized that the men in their lives are pretty much always thinking about Ancient Rome. It prompted people to question what their Roman Empires could be: What moments do they constantly revisit in their minds? Which of their memories play on repeat?
For a lot of these people, historical civilizations don’t cut it. Instead, their Roman Empires revolve around those “when you know, you know” moments in their real life, specifically when it comes to romance. “my roman empire is being the girl they absolutely destroy before turning a new leaf and becoming a better man,” one TikToker (Heidy, 21) posted to the trending sound.
She wasn’t the only TikToker to use the sound to share her dating woes. “my roman empire is being the girl before the longterm girlfriend,” Lizzie, 20, posted. Kelsey Soles, a TikToker with over 1.5 million followers, chimed in, too. “my Roman Empire is that his new girl is the exact opposite of me,” Soles wrote.
But the trend isn’t all about disappointing men. “my roman empire is when i was stargazing on the roof with my best friend who happened to be the first girl i truly fell in love with and she said ‘i wish you were a boy rn,’” Georgia, 17, wrote. Another TikToker made the trend about a pet: “my roman empire is my ex’s dog.”
No matter what your Roman Empire is, this trend gives you the space to dish about it.
