Anyone who’s donned a set of acrylic nails knows they take some getting used to - but one man found out first-hand just how fiddly the fashion accessories can be after he told his girlfriend that wearing them “couldn’t be that hard”.
Caitlin Barlow, an aspiring nail technician, needed a model to practice on at home and was delighted when her boyfriend Chris Heyes stepped in, although he mistakenly thought wearing false nails would be easy.
Even though Caitlin, 29, started Chris off with the shortest half-inch nails, the 35-year-old bartender struggled with the most basic of tasks, including using his phone, picking up coins, and taking his debit card out of an ATM.
Things went from bad to worse for Chis when Caitlin upgraded him to one-and-a-half-inch nails, which left him unable to even go to the toilet comfortably.
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Chris, from North Carolina, US, said: "It was like learning to walk for the first time. I had to relearn how to do everything. I didn’t realise how much I use my fingertips during the day.
"Having the fake nails on short circuited my brain. The most difficult tasks were the ones which are normally the simplest.
"I found it almost impossible to button a shirt, unbuckle a seatbelt, just getting out of the car was tough.
"Trying to get a debit card out of any slot was so difficult and it just made me realise how much I take my fingers for granted.
"Fortunately, this was on a day off for me because I would have broken each and every glass in work.
"Because Caitlin didn't have the practice hand, I volunteered. I figured it wouldn't be that hard having long nails like hers. I was wrong."
Caitlin had to wait until school started before she could go to college to learn to be a nail technician, so really appreciated her boyfriend’s help at home.
She said: “It was absolutely hilarious to me because I am just so used to my nails and I didn’t realise how difficult it would be for a newbie.
"I then realised if I took my nails off it would be like learning to walk again for me because I'm not used to using my natural fingertips now.
"Chris is so supportive to me. It was really funny as I was doing it.
"I practice all the time. I've always wanted to be a nail technician and I have all the equipment at home apart from a practice hand.”
Caitlin and Chris have shared videos of the bartender’s struggle online and have received over 13 million views – with most women left wondering how Chris “struggled so much” with even the shortest nails.
One woman said: “I don't get it. Those are short how is he struggling that much?"
While another wrote: "Major respect for educating him. Men have no clue."
A third joked: "Any time I drop coins they belong to the floor now."
And someone else added: "My soul left my body when I saw him trying to open the can that way. I about ripped my entire nail off trying to do that once."
