Last May, Kanye West fans were in for a disappointing surprise when the rapper deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts. But in honor of Valentine's Day, Kanye's social media accounts are back — Kanye reactivated his Instagram account to share a sweet message for his wife.
Kanye is known for sharing interesting posts on both social media networks — who can forget his infamous water bottle tweet? — so the news that he was no longer using them was a devastating blow for his followers. It wasn't clear why he abruptly decided to stop using social media, but it's safe to say fans are happy about his return. Within an hour of Kanye sharing his new Instagram post, the photo had already gained more than 200,000 likes. Fans were also quick to comment and share their excitement about the rapper's return to Instagram, with many people turning to the prayer-hands emoji.
The first photo Kanye shared since his return to Instagram is an image of a white card that reads "Happy Valentines Day Babe." The card is placed on a table, but if you look closely at the image, you can see what appears to be a pair of sneakers in the bottom right corner of the photo.
That's not the only photo Kanye shared on Wednesday, though. The rapper also posted vintage images of iconic celebrity couples — as well as the fictional couple he titled "Carrie & Mr. Big." He captioned the photos by listing who was pictured in each of them: Madonna and Sean Penn, Michelle and Barack Obama; Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere; Kate Moss and Johnny Depp; Aaliyah and Tupac; Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt; Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee; Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock; Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale; Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton; Kate Moss and Pete Doherty; Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs; Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and more.
Of the couples pictured, many of them are no longer together. Some are, though, including the Obamas as well as Kanye himself and his wife, Kim Kardashian. (Aaliyah and Tupac have both died since the photo West shared was taken, and they may be just friends in the image. Aaliyah was close friends with Kidada Jones, who was engaged to Tupac when he died. Princess Diana, pictured with Prince Charles, has also died since the photo Kanye shared was taken.)
Was Kanye trying to make some sort of Valentine's Day statement with the photos? There's really no way to say what the rapper wanted to convey by sharing the vintage images. There's also not much to tie the photos together, though it's possibly worth noting that Kanye listed the female half of each pair first in his captions. Representation for Kanye West didn't immediately respond to Bustle's request for comment.
The first two photos are also black and white images, while many of the later images Kanye shared are in color.
While Kanye appears to be back on Instagram, it looks like he's not planning to rejoin Twitter just yet. If you try to visit @kanyewest on Twitter, you'll still get the "Sorry, that page doesn't exist!" message.
Back when Kanye deleted his social media accounts in May, an unnamed source told Us Weekly that the rapper "wasn't using social media that often and it wasn't necessary for his creative process." It's not clear why Kanye changed his mind and returned to Instagram, or whether he'll keep using the site after Valentine's Day is over.
Despite the mystery surrounding Kanye's Instagram activity, fans seem to be loving his photo posting spree. Several people left funny comments on the post about Paltrow and Pitt, too. "Do the Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake one where they’re dressed in matching denim," one person wrote. "Please post a pic of you and yourself, cause Kanye loves Kanye," another person commented.
Another mystery is why West chose to use two photos of Pamela Anderson, one with Tommy Lee and one with Kid Rock.
West returned to black and white photos (and to Kate Moss) with his most recent photo, an image of Kate Moss and Pete Doherty.
Kim Kardashian hasn't addressed her husband's return to Instagram yet, though she did share a sweet Valentine's Day post of her own. "I love you to infinity! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!" Kardashian wrote on Instagram, sharing an image of her and Kanye locked in a sweet embrace.
Mysterious photos of former couples aside, it's clear that the two of them are more in love than ever. Kanye's first Instagram post since his return to social media is a sweet way for him to rejoin the network and to show his love for his wife.
