‘Can I eat now?’ The tale of an Insta-husband forced to wait for the perfect foodie photo. Every. Single. Time.

I met them at a new restaurant’s “media preview night” last week.

We were politely inquiring about one another’s lives while sipping cocktails and impatiently awaiting our first course. Becca Damron introduced herself as the local foodie behind Instagram account @feedmeadventures, then introduced her boyfriend Frank Mancuso.

Having brought my own fiancé to these tastings before, I assumed that Frank was yet another #InstaHusband along for the free food and booze, who would roll his eyes as all the food bloggers went to extraordinary lengths to get THE perfect shot of each cocktail and small plate throughout the evening.

I was kind of right, but mostly wrong. See, Frank actually comes to these tastings to post photos and videos on an Instagram account of his own.

The account chronicles Frank’s experience as the boyfriend of a foodie, who has to wait until she’s captured the perfect shot of her meal before he’s allowed to dig in. It’s called @canieatmeow, as a nod to all the #InstaHusbands out there who have had to wait until all photos have been snapped before exasperatedly asking, “Can I eat now?”

It’s all in good fun, of course. Frank’s not actually annoyed that he has to wait for Becca to whip out her phone to get pictures of his meals and drinks before he eats them… Or is he? We spoke with him to find out more.

CharlotteFive: Let’s start with the basics. Tell me about yourself.

Frank: My name is Frank. I am a consultant by day, real estate investor by night — and I moonlight as a very patient (yet hungry) significant other. I’ve been in Charlotte four years. I live in the Wilmore neighborhood and I love it, but sadly I will be moving soon.

C5: What inspired you to start the account?

F: Too many glasses of wine… no, seriously. Becca invited me to an event at Ink n Ivy, and she actually got a little annoyed that the waiter and host were paying more attention to me than to her. We got into a passionate conversation about how I’m a deadbeat freeloader just along for the free drinks and meals (my words, not hers). As a relationship-saving solution, we decided that I needed to get in the Instagram game myself. We started spitballing ideas. A cocktail and two glasses of wine later, @canieatmeow was born.

C5: How long have you been running the @canieatmeow account?

F: Since that fateful night in early 2017.

C5: How did you come up with the name?

F: It’s less exciting than you may think. @canieatnow was already taken, so I tore a page out of the Super Troopers book by replacing “now” with “meow.” If you haven’t seen the movie, look up the “cat game” scene where they pull the guy over, and count how many times they can replace “now” with “meow.”

C5: What response have you gotten from people (online and in person) to the content you’re producing on this account?

F: Apparently, people think it’s funny and enjoy reading the captions. Though sometimes I take really long breaks between posting, because I get annoyed at looking at my own face and think that others would, too… so, there’s that.

C5: What’s your favorite part of running this account?

F: That I’m no longer a deadbeat freeloader. I may only have 400-odd followers, but they are the most loyal followers a man can get. In all seriousness, though, this is a great outlet for me to poke some fun at things and gives me something to do outside of work. When people message me or leave comments, I like to think that my posts make them laugh or brighten their day. Last week someone commented, “This is by far my favorite Instagram feed,” which was amazing to me. Oh, and one time @colbiecaillat liked one of my posts, which had me starstruck. And once when we were Hello, Sailor, a couple recognized me from Instagram, which had me baffled and flattered all at the same time.

C5: On the whole, how often do you attend media tastings or go out with Becca specifically to get food and drink photos?

F: Rarely do I get to go to cool events. She invites me to a lot, but I travel a lot for work, so I don’t often actually get to go to the events themselves — but we typically go out somewhere new once a week. My dream is to get invited to an event as @canieatmeow, and to bring @feedmeadventures as MY plus one instead of vice versa.

C5: Outside of the posts themselves, what’s it like to be in a relationship with a foodie Instagram influencer?

F: I love that I rarely have to pick a place to eat, since she is in tune with everything in and around Charlotte. We have totally avoided that whole “relationships are just two people constantly asking each other where they want to go eat until one of them dies” thing.

C5: How do you feel about the term “Insta-husband”?

F: I don’t mind it at all. I’m so proud of what Becca has built and the vision she has for her account.

C5: What advice do you have for all the other “Insta-husbands” out there?

F: Embrace and support it, but for Pete’s sake — don’t give up your dignity.

This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 12:00 AM.