It's happened to almost all of us—we're sitting around minding our own business when WHAM! an ex finds a way to magically reappear in our lives.
Usually it's when someone hits you with an "OMG did you see who your ex is dating?"
If your friends are asking then you expect the new boo to be someone you know. Maybe your ex is dating one of their old co-workers, or that "just a friend" friend.
Or Lady Gaga.
Lindsay Crouse was sitting at her desk when her phone exploded with people telling her to check social media and asking if she was okay. Whatever was happening, it was big.
So she hopped online and it didn't take long to find her ex's (they were together for seven years) picture plastered all over the place. Why?
He was Lady Gaga's new boyfriend.
Yeah, that's a lot to take in.
Most of us have compared ourselves to our ex's new partner once or twice. But how do you compare yourself to Lady Gaga?
How do you not‽‽
How do you convince your brain not to do it whether you want it to or not? Brains are kind of notorious for wandering off on their own into dangerous territory.
Comparing yourself to Lady Gaga is definitely dangerous territory.
It would be easy for that to go badly. She's a multi-millionaire, genre-defying triple-threat humanitarian who is beloved by pretty much everyone who meets her, has perfectly chiseled cheekbones and hangs out with Oprah for funsies.
Ya know, no big deal.
Some of us cope with wine or meditation. Lindsay worked through it by writing about it for The New York Times.
What she wrote is not, at all, what a lot of you expect.
Yes, there was absolutely some initial mental dumpster fire, of course. Beyond that, though, was something altogether different.
We're not going to spoil the journey for you because you should absolutely read her piece. It's fantastic.
What we will say is that Lindsay comes out the other side of the potential mental minefield feeling pretty dang snazzy. She even recommends comparing yourself to Lady Gaga to the rest of us.
She thinks it could be good for us.
"Lady Gaga is amazing. Comparing yourself with her is incredibly motivational, and I recommend you try it, regardless of how you relate to who's dating her."
Twitter kind of loves everything about this.
At the end of the day Lindsay decided that if she and Gaga could date the same man, then maybe they weren't so different. If Gaga can get out there and change the world, then so can she.
So that's our work for the day, folks. Let's get out there and Gaga it up for a little bit.
Apparently it's good for you!
Lady Gaga's critically acclaimed performance in A Star Is Born is available here.
The soundtrack album from the film is available here.
@thekalenallen/Threads
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