Rory Farquharson is gaining viral fame this week after the Harvard University student and son of a wealthy British family was spotted kissing Malia Obama at a college football game — and apparently he welcomes the attention.
A photo caught the pair sharing a kiss at a tailgate before the Harvard-Yale game, leading to some viral attention for the mystery man spotted with the daughter of president Barack Obama. British media identified him as Rory Farquharson, the son of an investment manager who attended the exclusive Rugby School in England.
The picture sparked interest across social media, with Farquharson’s name trending across a number of platforms and people searching for information about him.
As This Is Insider noted, Farquharson is a 19-year-old who started his studies at Harvard University last year. This is Malia Obama’s first year at Harvard after taking a year off following her high school graduation. While he may not be the child of a world leader, Farquharson has quite a powerful family himself. The Telegraph reported that the Harvard student’s Twitter account identified his father as Charles Farquharson, the CEO of the London-based Insight Investment Management Limited.
The report noted that the family lives in a six-bedroom home in Suffolk valued at more than $2 million.
The identification as Malia Obama’s rumored boyfriend led to viral fame for Rory Farquharson, with pictures of the teenager spreading across the internet. Some of them showed the 19-year-old playing rugby for a team called the Irish Exiles, a picture that his school shared on Twitter.
Congratulations to Rory who played for the Irish Exiles on Sunday #wholepersonwholepoint #rugby pic.twitter.com/LwL89MXdyl
— Rugby School (@RugbySchool1567) January 24, 2017
Another shored Rory Farquharson with the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in Northern Ireland, where he worked as a summer intern.
It’s been an absolute delight and pleasure to have this exceptional student @rory_farq from @Harvard spend this week with us in Belfast ? pic.twitter.com/ICFnJT19h5
— Conor Houston (@ConorHouston_) June 9, 2017
Malia Obama’s new ‘boyfriend’ unveiled! He is a British student at Harvard university, Rory Farquharson. Both were seen kissing on campus ground after attending Harvard-Yale football match on Saturday. The 19-year-old Maila is daughter of US ex-President Barack Obama. pic.twitter.com/9UF7g4E6HZ
— ? Sèyí Gesindé – Ghéshè (@GhesheS) November 23, 2017
There are also more details about Malia Obama’s new boyfriend spreading through the media. The Mail Online spoke to a former school friend, who said that Rory Farquharson was popular at his school and “quite a catch.”
Farquharson is apparently fine with the spotlight that comes from dating the daughter of a former U.S. president. A family member stated that Farquharson is “comfortable with any attention” that comes from the relationship as it develops.
EXCLUSIVE: Cousin of Malia Obama’s British boyfriend says the teen will be ‘comfortable with any attention’ if things develop https://t.co/M0UfxPBPBY
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) November 24, 2017
This is not the first time that Malia Obama’s love life has gotten headlines. Earlier this year she was connected to a Stanford graduate named Rob Franklin, who Malia met while she was interning in New York City. As TMZ noted, the two were believed to be just friends, but they still gained headlines when they were spotted together.
While Rory Farquharson may be gaining viral fame, there is still no confirmation that the British student is indeed Malia Obama’s new boyfriend.
[Featured Image by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images]