In The Clerb, We All Diet Coke Fam

For some, Diet Coke isn’t just a soda. It’s a personality trait. A way of life — one that even borders on a religious experience. While scrolling social media, you’ll inevitably discover that the drink has a cult-like following of loyal fans and devotees — and each one seems more diehard than the next.

Take TikTok creator @paigekeiner, who called Diet Coke her “emotional support beverage” in a July video, or comedian Heather McMahan, who could talk of nothing else while appearing on the Chicks in the Office podcast on Oct. 16. Then there’s TikTok user @kaitgrainge, who joked that cracking open a can is all it takes to heal her generational trauma. The Diet Coke (DC) club is strong, but it’s gained even more members thanks to recent viral iterations, like Diet Coke coffee and Dua Lipa’s spicy DC, which are doing numbers on the app.

For others, like creator @abigailgherring, the DC love goes so far back it’s practically genetic. “I fully got the obsession from my mom, who got it from her mom,” she tells Bustle. Herring estimates she was allowed her first taste at age 10 and it’s been a true obsession ever since.

Like many people who can’t start their day without an iced coffee, Herring says she needs a soda to get going. “I want to wake up and take that first sip,” she tells Bustle. “It gives me the energy I need.” But a refreshing jolt isn’t the only thing that has Diet Coke girls gathering en masse. To loyal followers of the beverage, the diet version is said to be a perfected final form of Coke thanks, in part, to its sweet yet sugar-free aspartame kick.

According to Bustle’s senior beauty editor, Rachel Lapidos, a lifelong DC fan, the beverage also has a cool, rebellious undertone. “It's not the mass Coke,” she says. “It comes in a silver can, and it's just... edgy.” All these factors may explain why so many people hop on the soda train early — and then stay on it for life.

You Can’t Sip With Us

Many DC girls bond over their shared obsession. “Every time I’m with my friends our first question is, ‘Can we stop for a Diet Coke?’” says TikTok creator Kristen Hollingshaus, aka @hauskris. And many fans also seem to have a lot in common beyond that.

On the app, creator @umgabi called out the hallmarks of a typical DC lover, pointing to the clothes they like to wear (black hoodies), the snacks they enjoy (sour gummies), and the way they decorate their apartments (old magazine photos). In her comments, one person called the breakdown “biblically accurate.” Another said, “Diet Coke girls FTW forever.” Though they can take other forms — and many walk among us undetected.

“I would drink regular Coke if it tasted like Diet Coke, but it just doesn’t.”

Some DC followers even seem magical, like @emilykathrynhaynes, who showed her devotion in a viral video posted in July. She tried variations of the drink — in a can, from a bottle, from McDonald’s — in a blind taste test and correctly identified each one using nothing but her powers of perception. In her comments, the drink’s official page said, “you know me so well” to which she replied, “You and I forever.”

True fans really know their stuff, and that’s because they rarely have just one can a day. “If I need a little treat, I’ll get a Diet Coke. If I need to wake up, Diet Coke,” says Herring, who estimates she spends about $80 a month on 30-packs and trips to McDonald’s, where she says the best, most tingly fountain sodas are available. On her page, she often takes her followers along for the ride in what she calls a “Gen Z smoke break.”

“I do love a Diet Coke at home, but I really love the act of getting in my car, driving, and getting one, too,” says Herring. “It's like a Target run, but better.”

Like Swifties going after Eras Tour tickets or movie fans hunting for themed popcorn buckets, there’s no standing between a DC devotee and their tasty, zesty drink.

On her page, Hollingshaus pours a cold one on a regular basis for her nearly 500,000 followers, and she truly does it justice — almost like a ceremony. First, she’ll let her can “marinate” for a few days in the fridge to ensure it’s perfectly frosty. Then she’ll add pebbled Diet Coke ice cubes, a packet of True Lime, and three frozen lime wedges. For extra oomph, she’ll artfully drink through a glass straw.

“It likely seems like we're speaking in a secret language when talking about Diet Coke.”

“Honestly, the only way I can describe it is like a sweet relief,” says Hollingshaus of her mid-afternoon sip. “It's something that I know will bring me a little piece of happiness during the day — it's delicious, the burn hits so good, and it's something I know and love.”

The “burn” or intense tingle of carbonation is something many DC stans rave about. “For some, it likely seems like we're speaking in a secret language when talking about Diet Coke,” says Hollingshaus. But for the initiated, it all makes perfect sense.

Don’t Joke About Diet Coke

There are so many things that set DC girls and their go-to drinks apart in the sea of Dr. Peppers, Pepsis, and even regular Coke. “It’s all about the flavor,” says Herring, adding the other drinks just don’t do it for her. “I would drink regular Coke if it tasted like Diet Coke, but it just doesn’t.” For some, it’s the bubbly sting. For others, the memories attached to it keep them coming back for more.

“I still remember the first time I drank Diet Coke,” says Hollingshaus. Her parents wouldn’t let her have soda as a kid so she snuck a sip behind their back at age 16. “Maybe it was because it was something I couldn't have that made it so good, but I couldn't get enough after that,” she says. “I even worked at a soda shop in college because I love it that much.”

As a whole, many Diet Coke girls are laid-back, fun-loving, and share a kinship with their fellow soda stans. But one thing they don’t joke about is their fave beverage. The obsession may sound extreme, but that’s OK. The girls who get it, get it. And the girls who don’t, don’t.