Bizarre photo of a woman in wedding dress has everyone convinced about 'glitch in the Matrix'

Images designed to trick the eye often create a buzz on social media, but sometimes people unintentionally capture images that become puzzling optical illusions. Normally, a bride-to-be trying on wedding dresses might worry about an ill-fitting gown, at the most, but Tessa Coates, a podcaster and comedian, encountered something far more unsettling. In one of her photos, Coates was gazing at her reflection in two different mirrors, but both showed her in completely different poses. One mirror depicted her with her arms on the side, while the other showed her with her arms crossed with one of them on her stomach. In an attempt to find an explanation for this strange image, Coates posted it on Instagram and X (previously Twitter).

In the caption of the photo, she wrote, "I went wedding dress shopping, and the fabric of reality crumbled. This is a real photo, not photoshopped, not a panorama, not a Live Photo. If you can't see the problem, please keep looking, and then you won't be able to unsee it." Coates described the strange "glitch in the Matrix" as so unsettling that it nearly made her vomit right there on the street after her appointment, as reported by the New York Post. The bizarre photo left many social media users scratching their heads, with some unsure whether to congratulate her on her engagement or warn her to run.

One Instagram user, @noquemacuh.foo, commented, “If it was a glitch in the matrix, then you would see it in real life and the photo. The fact that it only shows in the photo shows that it’s a glitch in the photo and not in reality.” Another person, who goes by the username @alvisaveryrueger, wrote, “That gave me the Willies. Keep the dress. Someone was telling you how they looked in that very similar one. To me, it’s a good omen. That dress is absolutely gorgeous, beautiful, stunning.” Following them, @yukfoo2 wrote, “So, sometimes you get a reverse image when you post stuff & being that those are mirrors they’re not but also are. That’s why the mirror images make both arms look like the one facing that mirror. OR it’s a couple of demons looking back at you.”

Another Instagram user, @beckysideslooser, chimed in and wrote, “The photo is startling and creepy. But that dress is gorgeous. I like the pink flowers. Congratulations on your engagement.” While Coates was trying on dresses alone, she sent the photos to her sister, who quickly noticed the strange effect. Her sister reached out to a tech colleague for advice. Soon, eight men were examining the photo, and all of them freaked out. As reported by The Mirror, Coates soon returned to the shop and double-checked whether those were mirrors or cameras. She then went to an Apple Store to ask about the odd reflection. After waiting for two hours, an employee named Roger explained the situation.

He clarified that even when the Live Photo feature is not switched on, phones sometimes capture a series of photos from left to right to form a single photograph. He surmised that the odd reflection was caused by Coates raising her arms just as the camera moved behind her. However, Roger acknowledged that such an issue was uncommon. Later, in her Instagram stories, the woman highlighted the line where the two photographs blended into a single picture. She noted that both the images were fully separate ones.