{"id":523141,"date":"2026-06-28T20:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/523141\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T20:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T20:39:39","slug":"4-popular-quotes-commonly-misattributed-to-frida-kahlo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/523141\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Popular Quotes Commonly Misattributed to Frida Kahlo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quotes: they\u2019re the answer to the feelings us common folk simply can\u2019t put into words. But what happens when the so-called musings of your biggest idols are actually a facade? Sadly, that may be the case with your favorite Frida Kahlo<\/a> quote. <\/p>\n

Often associated with the surrealist movement\u2014a label she famously rejected\u2014Kahlo was a creative whose work was a lifelong exorcism of her own pain. She had numerous physical disabilities as a result of polio and a bus crash, which caused chronic pain throughout a life mostly spent within the confines of her Mexico City home<\/a> until her death in 1954 at age 47. At the same time, that anguish was the fire behind her paintings\u2014mainly portraits, but also the poems found in her recovered journals and letters. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s part of the reason so many of the most profound quotes<\/a> posted on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram have been attributed to her. But as much as we want to believe these words about love and life came from the same mind as “The Two Fridas<\/a>,” the truth is, many are simply products of confirmation bias or social media strategy. Here are four famous “Frida Kahlo quotes” that didn\u2019t actually come from her mouth\u2014or pen. <\/p>\n

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world…”<\/a> “In the end, I believe that we don’t need to do anything to be loved.”<\/a>“I’m not asking you to kiss me, nor apologize to me when I think you\u2019re wrong.”<\/a>“You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled.”<\/a>“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world…”<\/p>\n

This famously validating quote was practically the motto for misunderstood teenagers for some time. But maybe that’s because it was written by a teenager: Rebecca Martin, rather than Frida Kahlo, whose own work explored themes of vulnerability, isolation, and pain. The 17-year-old penned and then submitted this quote to PostSecret, an anonymous community art project, back in 2008<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most common version circulating is: “I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do.” <\/p>\n

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do.” \u2014 Frida Kahlo<\/p>\n

\u2014
Frida Kahlo. \u201cSelf-Portrait with Cropped Hair.\u201d 1940. pic.twitter.com\/lWIvk73s7y<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) November 22, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Little did she know that the chosen background of her postcard\u2014a haphazardly ripped-out magazine photo of Kahlo\u2014would lead thousands to believe the words belonged to the late Mexican artist herself. Even the Museum of Modern Art in New York was fooled, tweeting Martin’s words over a decade later and falsely crediting Kahlo. <\/p>\n

“In the end, I believe that we don’t need to do anything to be loved.”<\/p>\n

The irony of this self-worth quote is that to gain traction, it had to be pinned to a feminist icon. Given that Kahlo lived with debilitating physical pain\u2014a reality she expressed through art\u2014the quote certainly feels like something you\u2019d find in one of her notebooks:<\/p>\n

“And in the end, I believe that we don’t need to do anything to be loved. We spend our lives trying to seem prettier, smarter. But I realized two things. Those who love us see us with their hearts and attribute qualities to us beyond those we really have. And those who don’t want to love us will never be satisfied with all our efforts.”<\/p>\n

Except, you won\u2019t find it there. Despite its ubiquity on social media, there\u2019s no evidence of these words in Kahlo\u2019s diary<\/a>, letters, or interviews. It\u2019s a Frida-coded sentiment, no doubt. But at the end of the day, it serves as a reminder of how easily we project our own need for validation onto our idols. Still, as far as fake news goes, this one\u2019s relatively harmless. After all, a reminder that we\u2019re lovable as we are isn\u2019t such a bad thing to have floating around the digital ether.<\/p>\n

\"Frida<\/p>\n

Frida Kahlo with sleeping man. | Bettmann\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

“I’m not asking you to kiss me, nor apologize to me when I think you\u2019re wrong.”<\/p>\n

Words well-spoken, Frida\u2014or rather, well-spoken by whatever faceless wordsmith first posted this online. It\u2019s a snippet of a longer, self-assured poem about relationships that\u2019s almost always falsely attributed to a conversation between Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera. In full, it reads:<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not asking you to kiss me, nor apologize to me when I think you\u2019re wrong. I won\u2019t even ask you to hug me when I need it most. I don\u2019t ask you to tell me how beautiful I am, even if it\u2019s a lie, nor write me anything beautiful. I won\u2019t even ask you to call me to tell me how your day went, nor tell me you miss me. I won\u2019t ask you to thank me for everything I do for you, nor to care about me when my soul is down, and of course, I won\u2019t ask you to support me in my decisions. I won\u2019t even ask you to listen to me when I have a thousand stories to tell you. I won\u2019t ask you to do anything, not even be by my side forever. Because if I have to ask you, I don\u2019t want it anymore.”<\/p>\n

While it sounds like something the emotionally-charged artist would say, there\u2019s zero proof it exists in any of her writings\u2014including her love letters<\/a> to Rivera. It\u2019s a classic example of Notes app poetry hijacking a historical figure to give a no-name\u2019s breakup letter a sense of gravitas. <\/p>\n

“You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled.”<\/p>\n

Yet another faux-Kahlo quote about the importance of being loved in any state, this one is actually a piece of modern poetry. Titled “Mereces un amor<\/a>” and written by the Mexican poet Estefan\u00eda Mitre, the full passage reads: <\/p>\n

“You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled, with everything and all the reasons that wake you up in a haste and the demons that won\u2019t let you sleep.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an evocative sentiment about embracing one’s flaws, but it has no connection to the painter\u2014unless you count the hundreds of times it has been pasted over her portraits to gain social media clout.<\/p>\n

\"Diego<\/p>\n

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo getting a marriage license. | Bettmann\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

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