C'mon Barbie, let's get divorced: 'I broke up with my bf after watching the Barbie movie.'

Long before the moment of its release, Greta Gerwig's Barbie was causing buzz.

The film has received positive reviews from both the box office and those who were just excited to see Margot Robbie act her pants off. Its impact on culture, feminism and girl power will have a (hopefully) permanent and lasting impact.

But the effect of Barbie goes beyond the big screen because it's causing women to reflect on their personal relationships. 

Watch: Margot Robbie takes you inside the Barbie dream house. Post continues after video. 

Following the release of the film in August 2023, a trend has emerged: women around the world are breaking up with their boyfriends, and blaming... Barbie. 

The conversation started (as it so often does) on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) when one woman asked her followers if anyone else had the desire to end their relationship with their partners after watching Barbie. 

"Did anyone watch Barbie and suddenly want to break up with their boyfriend or was that just me?" she wrote. 

"[He asked me] 'Are you crying???' You’re just a guy and you’ll never understand how difficult it is to be a woman in a man’s world. There’s this attention to detail that a lot of men don’t have."

did anyone watch Barbie and suddenly want to break up w their boyfriend or was that just me?🤒

“are you crying???” you’re just a guy and you’ll never understand how difficult it is to be a woman in a man’s world. there’s this attention to detail that a lot of men don’t have.

— visionary T ☕️ (@awhtee) July 23, 2023

She wasn't the only one who felt like the film had opened their eyes to realities in their own relationships – and it turns out the phenomenon has been widespread.

Another woman took her own relationship example to the 'Am I The A**hole' corner of Reddit to ask if she was in the wrong for ending her relationship because of the film.

"I literally don't know what to do right now and I feel so helpless turning to Reddit for advice/validation," the user wrote.

"But three days ago, my boyfriend and I went to go see the Barbie movie. I’ve been really excited as I’m a huge Greta Gerwig fan and my boyfriend liked Ryan [Gosling]. Other than him being in the movie, my boyfriend didn’t know anything else about it. I, on the other hand, was aware of its feminist themes and was secretly hoping my boyfriend would get the message."

The user continued, "Over the duration of the movie I could tell he was getting more and more uncomfortable/upset and I was getting really sad (both from the movie and his reaction) and I knew we would end up having a conversation about it afterwards. 

"He didn’t talk to me until we got in the car. He then told me that he was really offended by the movie and said that it was the kind of thing I should have watched with my girlfriends and not him. I understood where he was coming from but I’m not going to even start explaining why I disagreed."

And with that, the Reddit user went on to say she decided to end their relationship.

But here's the kicker: the comments were all for this Barbie-inspired change of relationship status. 

"Sorry he lacked the Kenergy to step up when he needed to. I know it hurts right now, but you absolutely did the right thing," wrote one responder.

"It’s not about the Barbie movie, is about him not respecting women and seeing them as equals. Anyone that gets offended by that movie don’t have empathy for us. Edit: if you want to know if your bf passes the vibe check, watching this movie together is a great way to do it," wrote another and, amen sister.

But the most imteresting comment? 

"This is, like, the third post about the Barbie movie breaking up a couple." 

Like we said: phenomenon.

It's happening IRL too, not just over on FReddit. One woman (who chose to remain anonymous) told Mamamia she also broke up with her boyfriend after watching the film and attributed the breakdown of their relationship to the movie. 

The Barbie movie has spurred conversations all around the world, and Gerwig's film goes beyond the surface of being a doll brand. Instead of making a purely fantastic world where women are not impacted by patriarchy, the film delved into gender bias and societal oppression.

Divorce lawyer to the stars Laura Wasser has a compelling theory about how the film itself is leading to divorces and breakups around the globe, even among her clients, which include Kim Kardashian, Sophie Turner, Kevin Costner and Ariana Grande to name a few.

In a conversation with Cosmopolitan, Wasser stated women are changing and becoming more informed, educated and aware of their own power – ideals championed in Barbie.

Powerful people like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are also contributing to relationship breakdowns, says Wasser.

"They're angry about our reproductive rights getting rolled back, they're feeling their power by going to see Barbie and Taylor and Beyoncé," she said.

"And they're like, 'I don't need this. I'm the one making this money and I'm not comfortable, not working, and have this spouse who's either also not working or never was working.'

"A lot of people have said, 'I'm out.' So it's compounded by what's going on here economically."

Feature Image: Warner Bros.