Noted for his saucy quotes on Instagram, Coeurnichons arrives in bookstores
(ETX Daily Up) - Some would be intimidated to talk about sex and love with over 146,000 people. Not Ivo da Silva, the creator of the Instagram account @Coeurnichons. The 30-year-old recently released his first book, "Love with a big A and a little Q", to put down on paper the aphorisms that make him successful online. Encounter.
The @Coeurnichons Instagram account has been around for a year and a half. What prompted you to create it?
I felt like I was going in circles before launching @Coeurnichons. I've always loved writing and that's what pushed me to resume my studies in journalism at 28 years old. Despite that, I felt the need to add something more to my daily life and the health concerns I went through last year convinced me even more. I developed a chronic intestinal disease which forced me to stay at home for several months. Added to this was the Covid and I really said to myself "Ok, I have to think about something else". This Instagram account really helped me. It was kind of an escape.
At the beginning, I didn't have the idea of talking exclusively about love and sex, but it quickly imposed itself on me. I am 30 years old and my relationship to love has changed a lot over the past ten years. I don't think I could have created this account and talked about sexuality in such a liberated way when I was younger. That's really the goal of @Coeurnichons: to offer quotes that speak to everyone, whether you're straight, gay, bi, etc.
In the preface to 'Love with a capital A and a small Q', Instagrammer @TendreRoméo states that your quotes are somewhere between "delicate ribaldness" and "coarse romanticism". A preference between the two ?
This is a question I ask myself very, very often. I am a great romantic but my subscribers prefer quotes more focused on sex. I tried to play with this duality throughout the book, with "heart" and "tits" as my Instagram handle implies. I really care about this aspect of @Coeurnichons. I have long been very modest when it comes to talking about my private life with my loved ones. Instagram allows me to be more saucy and to write quotes like "just snap your fingers and I'll come and smack your ass" or "in love as in sex, you should never be afraid to wet" (laughs).
Many of your followers use your quotes to flirt on social media and dating apps. How do you live it?
I discovered that some people were using my aphorisms on Tinder, Happn or Bumble during the first lockdown. They choose different quotes depending on what they are looking for: the most rude when they want a one-night relationship and the most romantic when they are looking for seriousness. I also noticed that many send them to their "crush" on social networks. I get a lot of messages from subscribers saying, "I sent this quote to intel and I got it done" or "I sent this quote to my boyfriend and we had sex". It makes me laugh a lot, but also think. I find it incredible that my words can have such an impact on people.
"Love with a capital A and a small Q" is punctuated with very personal anecdotes about your love and sexual life. How did you approach the fact of giving yourself so much, knowing that you are more erased on your Instagram account?
I didn't want to make it an autobiographical book, but more of a hybrid book. A bit like my account. I told myself that my different love experiences could touch a lot of people. This may be a little presumptuous on my part, but speaking from my own experience gives me some legitimacy. I can't give advice on sexuality not being a sexologist, but I can share my experience.
I already do it occasionally on @Coeurnichons by addressing my bisexuality and I see that it speaks to my subscribers. I mainly receive messages from young teenagers who think they are bisexual or homosexual, but who don't know how to deal with it. I spend my time discussing these issues with my subscribers and sharing my feelings with them. I sometimes get very, very personal questions about my love or intimate life, and I try to answer them. Sometimes in a roundabout way, but always with as much honesty as possible.
That's why I decided to dedicate a part of my book to plural loves, and to the open relationship that I lived for almost five years. It's such a personal chapter because this relationship has been devastating for me. I think a lot of people have had a similar experience, or hope to do so. I hope that my book will help them to assume their desires and not to be judgmental.
This book also allows you to introduce yourself to the world not just as @Coeurnichons but as Ivo da Silva. How do you approach this situation after a year and a half of anonymity on Instagram?
With great apprehension (laughs). I always knew people would want to know more about me as my community grew. I hadn't shown my face until now or even signed my quotes with my real name. But I said to myself that it was time to assume my writings, the most romantic as well as the most vulgar.
I assume them because they are a facet of my personality, which my parents do not necessarily know. I think they will learn a couple of things about me from reading the book (laughs). They're both in their seventies and don't follow me on Instagram. I censor my humor a lot in their company because we are quite reserved in the family when it comes to talking about our intimate lives.
It's different with my subscribers. They are my confidants, and I theirs. I sometimes have to take a little distance and set limits so as not to be overwhelmed. But I do it with a lot of philosophy. We are all here to find love and have a good time while waiting to meet it.
"Love with a capital A and a small Q" by Ivo da Silva, aka Coeurnichons, is currently available online and in bookstores.
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