It all started with two young women sharing funny memes on Instagram. Now, with a whopping 8.2 million followers, Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris can easily be called internet meme queens. Although the name of the account is about a therapist saying something, it is mostly about young folks sharing anxious thoughts and, well... being a bit of a mess.
Lola and Nicole told Cosmopolitan magazine that the account is “one of the fastest-growing aggregate Instagram accounts in history, climbing to 500,000 followers in its first six months and now surpassing 2 million since they started it in July 2015." The account is also one of the biggest meme places on the internet and has been run anonymously up until now.
The two women met twelve years ago in their hometown Toronto and have been friends ever since. After high school Lola moved to L.A. trying to pursue a career in acting, while Nicole was studying psychology at the University of Western Ontario Living such different lives, they kept in touch and were exchanging funny memes every day.
Both women attend therapy due to some personal issues. Lola says: "Every time I would talk to Nicole, I was like, ‘My therapist said this,’ and she’d say, "No, I said that.' And I'm like, ‘Well, you are basically my therapist, so.'"
Thus the inspiration for the "My Therapist Says" Instagram account was born. It reflects their daily lives, struggles and complaints they shared with each other and now do with the internet. "I’m not sure I see memes about mental health issues … or anything that really reflects what I, as a therapist, say to my clients,” says Dr. Jaclyn Cravens-Pickens, a licensed marriage and family therapy associate who does not know Lola or Nicole, while scrolling through the account.
Although Lola and Nicole wouldn't share how much money they've made from the account, they get sponsorships, wrote several books and now are starting a self-produced podcast. Cosmopolitan wrote that, "They reinvest most of their meme income into podcast production, they say, and have donated some of it to mental health and animal charities."
The account is a huge success; in fact, it will be made into a whole TV series. The two founders, along with Kenan Thompson and John Ryan Jr., will be executive producers of the show. Kenan told Glamour magazine: "Lola and Nicole have a unique and hilarious perspective that has resonated with people all over the world. I'm so excited to welcome our funny sisters to the AFA fam!"
