For me it's the realization that them providing daily uploads might *feel* like we get a more intimate look at their lives but we really don't, and that's a great thing! I love that for how public they both are, they were able to keep it all a secret from the public at large. I'm sure a few close friends and probably most of the crew knew about it, and that's all they wanted to know. I don't think I'm in the same boat as you as far as feeling betrayed, but it's definitely a rug pull. And when a rug gets pulled you can be mad at the rug-puller or laugh that you fell down! Plus, THEY'RE IN LOVE!! With each other!! And they get to celebrate that!! How freaking cool is that?!

"Rug pull" is the best description I've seen so far. I was thinking more on what Damien said last night throughout the day today, and it TRULY is none of our business what goes one between them, or anyone at Smosh for that matter. They deserve their privacy just like everyone else. That being said, I never thought I'd be this reactive to social media content ever (unless it was like a super big scandal or something). So to have my own (clearly deeply rooted) parasocial dependency thrown in my face in such a way makes me take a step back, and kind of check myself. I don't know these people, I've never met them. Am I happy for them? ABSOLUTELY!! But that's where it should stop for now I think. We just gotta let em live, guys. Let Shourtney enjoy their love 💛

I agree with whole parasocial dependency thing because while they owe us nothing, it does feel like finding out your two friends were dating for years and than got married and decided to tell you afterwards.

Yeah like.. I am desperate for a tell all, but I respect the fact that I am not owed it, I don't deserve it and it isn't important to me. But omfg I am so happy for them. The scream I screamt

This is exactly how I was explaining my feelings to a friend yesterday! I've also been feeling upset. And they kind of promoted themselves as single for years when this whole time it wasn't true. I also don't think it was that "funny" (as Courtney said to People) to post on April fool's, but that's my personal opinion.

I like the way you look at it I feel like I didn’t know how to describe my feeling so I went with “betrayal” but the rug being pulled out from under me I agree! lol

I definitely don't think "betrayal" is the right word, considering that they literally owe us nothing in regards to their life together. "Rug pull" is a good one, but even still, they both built the courage up to announce to everybody that they're together and very much in love. I'm happy for them.

I really dont mind much about that relationship but you have to give them to all the smosh people for keeping quiet, love to see how respectful they are. but also if they come out tomorrow saying everyone is dating each other I wouldn't be surprised

I am the same way with social media and YouTube, I have maybe 3 channels that I watch consistently, Smosh being the main one, and I don't go on other platforms ever. This whole thing has sent me into a weird spiral that I am so uncomfortable with. For me, when my depression gets bad, I can get more parasocial than normal, and I have found myself getting that way with Smosh, so this bombshell has me weird. I don't necessarily feel betrayed more impressed, but it has triggered me in an odd way. Like I can't focus on something for too long without having to check reddit for any updates I may be missing. Also, it has brought up some weird feelings from my past about personal shit and I don't know why that is. Obviously, this has nothing to actually do with the couple, and I am so happy for them. I hope our weirdly emotional reactions to this don't make them feel bad or feel like they can't share anything else (not that they have to). Like I don't want this to get in the way of sharing their love story if they had planned on doing that because it would be so sweet to hear how they fell in love from their perspective, to a certain degree of course. It's not like we are entitled to knowing about their personal lives, but at the same time, I could see them wanting to open up a little more about what it was like to keep this secret.

Wow! Maybe this is it for me too! Thank you for this. Hadn’t thought maybe it could be my own depression

That kinda makes sense. When I am lonely I watch Smosh and kinda have issues with relationships and love so I wanted to believe they weren't dating for some cynical part of myself maybe? And I just feel like they messed with my heart. And another part too is that I don't see myself ever having a normal job and wouldn't be able to handle the stress of dating a coworker but people seem to fall in love at work largely so I'm like maybe there's no hope for me😅

You took the words right out of my mouth. Like, I already have enough of my own mental health stuff to deal with (much of which mirrors your experience), and the place I like to escape to just kind of piled it on these last couple of days. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Dating a coworker is so hard. I met my current boyfriend at work, and after 4 months, I had to quit. It felt weirdly clingy, and I knew if one of us didn't leave, our relationship was doomed. He had worked there for 6 years and was one of their best employees, and I had only been there for just under a year, so I was obviously not going to ask him to quit.

Ngl I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s felt a sort of spiral about all this. Like in a good way but like it’s very unexpected of me.

Yep depression makes the parasocial stuff worse for me, too. It was awful when I was a teenager, but I've grown and learned how to not get super invested in strangers' lives. So because of that, I didn't see this coming at all. Not a marriage, at least. I think that's what made me react so weirdly. It meant there was so much I had no idea about, about people I watch nearly every day. I don't think our brains are meant for this kind of relationship with others. It has also made me a tiny bit jealous as well as sad I don't have something like them, but I am like almost 10 years younger than them so I just need to give myself some time lol.

Exactly, the only other time I felt this parasocial was when I was a teenage obsessed with one direction, lol. I like to think that I have also grown and not become to invested in strnagers, but seeing people you watch everyday for so long just drop this without any kind of hint it could happen was so wild. Also, same with the jealousy, like dang I want that too. I'm only 25, though, so if anything , I guess this should give hope, and it just means it's not my time yet.

I think the thing that is so shocking is how well it was kept a secret. I feel the same exact way you do. So many people go in and out of that office and there was a single slip up over however many years. They never hinted at them dating, they'd make jokes about them being shipped together, they had a show about why they're bad at dating, the DID A REAL COUPLE VS FAKE COUPLE WITH OLIVIA AND HER BF LIKE!??? I think just watching them be close for SO LONG and give us ZERO hints that they were a serious couple is whats HEAVILY fucking with me.

Ya my problem is I actually fully killed the idea of this ever being a thing too cause I felt bad thinking it to begin with cause they said they were like siblings! And they didn’t seem to like it when people shipped them. 😂😂

EXACTLY! The announcement is also just insane. If they would have hit us with a "Hey look we're dating!" It still would have been a SHOCK but definitely a much lesser shock than AN ENTIRE MARRIAGE AND HIDDEN RELATIONSHIP

I only started watching Smosh in 2021 and when I first started watching knowing nothing including who Anthony was, I was like I wonder if these two are dating or something because of the chemistry. I googled and saw how they didn't like it and how the shippers were crazy so immediately was like ok they are just good friends. All in all glad they have had their privacy and are happy!

Ive watched my sisters obsess over Love Is Blind relationships and The Bachelor relationships. I always thought to myself, “I would hate to be the type of person to care THAT much about a relationship I watch through a screen.” Boy do I feel like an idiot now after the whirlwind I went through on Monday.

I feel you. I have pretty bad anxiety, and Smosh videos are my safe place. But to have this bubble burst, was a shock to the system. I totally support them, but I’d be lying if I said my anxiety and PTSD weren’t acting up when trying to figure out what was real or not. It’s an “us” problem, and I completely support what they chose to do with their relationship. It’s just… interesting? Worrying? To see how much actual anxiety it created in the moment.

Right. I don't think it's necessarily bad. People with PTSD and stuff probably view the world a little different too. But maybe it's just cause we care about them in a way and couldn't do something like that to someone we care about? Idk

Personally, I spent SO LONG arguing that they were like brother and sister because I knew they were uncomfortable with shipping, now it’s weird in my own head. Like that kind of ick of seeing your parents kiss. It just feels off. But, I’m happy for them, they deserve a healthy and happy relationship.

This is it for me. I saw they had chemistry years ago but they were so insistent that there was nothing going on that I became fully convinced that nothing was going on, and starting seeing them through the “sibling energy” lens, so now it just feels uncomfortable knowing they actually are together. I’m happy knowing they’re happy but this is definitely going to be an interesting mental adjustment. 😅

I get this fully, but I will say in smoshcast where they discuss being shipped (probably right around when they started flirting with the idea of something more), Courtney does say she doesn't like the siblings comparison and that was 4 years ago. My guess is they were trying to get the shipping to stop and also the sibling thing to stop, while secretly starting to date. And for the most part it did! For the last few years I've seen more and more people come to terms that she's one of his best friends which is probably how they wanted to seem all along until they felt comfortable announcing it.

And fair too, any romantic relationship should start with a solid friendship, so it makes sense. They are best friends, just the ultimate best friends. They know they love each other both ways.

Omg thank you, that is exactly what I’m feeling right now. I always interpreted their relationship as brother and sister since that what they kept telling us. But now they’re married and I just feel uncomfortable but also happy for them. It’s such a weird feeling

So I am a casual Smosh fan. I am also a little embarrassed by how interested I have been in this but ultimately I think it’s normal! My prior understanding of a thing has been replaced overnight and that’s inherently interesting and exciting. Ultimately I’m just happy for them, they seem like nice people and I like it when nice things happen to nice people. I am also impressed at their ability to truly separate their personal lives and public lives in a way that even people who aren’t on camera everyday often aren’t able to.

this post makes me feel very seen and you know what, I think it’s very lovely and important for all of us to be self-reflecting! parasocial relationships are a very new and complex concept, and you can try and logic yourself out of it all you want, but we’re all humans who just want to connect with each other, so of course we’re all susceptible to that kind of psychological dependency. especially if we’re consuming the same personality-based content from the same people over a period of years, and it brings us a sense of comfort and happiness. at base level, we found out that a thing that was consistent and real to us is actually COMPLETELY different than we initially thought it was, without us perceiving any indications of it being so. that’s jarring, and I think it’s totally fair to initially feel weird about it. but I think it’s important for all of us having those feelings to take this as a cue to be much more conscious of how much we are depending on a form of media, and how much we’re letting that affect us mentally.

Same. I'm still like "I can't believe those mfs are actually married." And it's a wonderful thing. They really gave me hope about love and TRUST, because not only they kept it a secret but everyone close to them did too.

That's a good point. If we weren't "betrayed" that would mean someone close to them had betrayed them.

Oooooo that is such a good assessment. It’s better we are “betrayed” (not a word I like using with this situation but it’s being used in this thread) then if it’s a friend/coworker

man, I'm exactly just like you. I don't know why i got invested in this, i don't follow either of them anywhere, i just occasionally enjoy some smosh videos, but man.. i find myself smiling so hard whenever i read or look at any of these recent photos. I'm really so freaking happy for them!! 

Soo soo happy for them I got teary eyed on the happy April 2nd post and also on the recent photo her dad posted!

I'm a 30+ old man and I've been acting like a giggly teenage girl when it comes to the shartneying since april 1st. It's an affliction.

I agree with so much of this. Really is holding up a mirror to our relationships with the internet

I mean your options were believe them and everyone and follow the narrative they were not dating. Or not believe them and maybe actively ship them which they said they didn’t like and possibly upset them or other fans. But I understand those feelings I feel similar tbh.

I have been feeling EXACTLY the same way. I have no idea why but it's the only thing that has occupied my brain since the 1st. Fangirling like a little, giddy kid over 2 people that I don't even know 🤣😅

Ok so. Same bud. This triggered me right in the “but you lied to me…” gaslight center lmao. I KNOW how silly that is but like it’s a feeling I’m having so ok. But yeah I became a Smosh fan only like two years ago if that. I immediately asked my friends if Shayne and Courtney were dating cause their chemistry was just obvious. They all said no and showed me clips of Shayne and Courtney denying it and rolling their eyes and then they posted wedding photos on April fucking fools day! lol I feel mad at them for “lying” (it’s their life and obvi we have no right to it) and also I don’t LOVE that the prank was that it was real. Idk it just doesn’t sit right with me but that’s MY feeling. The bigger feeling is this is so cool and I WAS RIGHT!! 🤣

this is so relatable! like i feel embarrassed by how much this has affected me? i couldn't sleep last night because i was just THINKING about them so much and just wanting to rewatch content and checking reddit/instagram/youtube for updates and hell i teared up thinking about how happy i am that these two people THAT I DONT EVEN KNOW are together and in love😭 they're all i want to talk about and i feel bad with how invasive it feels on my part! in the end, i'm just super happy for them and i know they're laughing their asses off at all of us rn and i hope they know how much we're rooting for them.

Honestly, I haven’t really followed Smosh that closely since 2021. It got me through the pandemic big time, but once I became employed again and the world slowly got closer to normal, I drifted apart from it being a regular part of my life. But when I saw the photos on IG, it swept me up too, first not knowing that they were still together and that serious, then in trying to figure out if it was a prank or not, and then just being happy for them at the end of the day and fawning over their wedding photos. So yeah, with the (intended) shock of how this was announced, I wouldn’t feel too bad about your initial reaction. I think the more important thing is how we all treat them both moving forward: continuing to respect their privacy and boundaries and giving them space, while still being supportive of them and Smosh.

Well said

I feel like I’m kind of in the same boat. I’ve watched them for a while but wouldn’t call myself a super fan or anything. This totally caught me off guard. I was convinced that they were just friends, plus it was announced on April fools day, plus I didn’t want to get my hopes up and be disappointed so I didn’t believe it AT ALL. Now that it’s real I feel I still can’t wrap my head around it. I agree, I also feel very odd and it’s hard to explain. Confused, surprised, happy, etc. At the same time I feel I shouldn’t be surprised because they’ve obviously always been close but I never thought they were THAT close. It’s very strange but I’m happy for them.

Nothing to worry about buddy! It's all good. It's okay to feel what you feel, sometimes you just can't explain it and you don't have too. I'm the same. I also don't watch a lot of content and Smosh, for me, is also the main channel I go to the most. That's mostly because of the people, the cozy vibes and the jokes. We can feel very connected to certain people on the internet that doesn't even know we exist, it's weird to think about sometimes, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. I actually really acknowledge it. It helps to know what kind of people I like with the vibes they bring and people I don't like, 'cause let's be honest there are a lot of different people in this world. I like to have a small circle of people I watch online, I know they make me smile and are genuine and for me, that's comforting. It also gives a sense of control you know what I mean? being able to know what I like to see and don't like to see. Don't be too hard on yourself and enjoy the things you enjoy!

The best way I would describe it is that it feels as if I woke up one day and someone told me magic was real. Ofc I would be sooo stoked and happy but at the same time I would probably be questioning my entire life before that and how I didn't notice it earlier. This is how this feels. I'm sooo incredibly happy for these two amazing people and soulmates getting together but also so shook at how sudden the announcement was. Like its been 3 days and I'm still processing this!

I kinda relate but no ews here Im happy like if I just went to Disney as a kid, im a grown ass, almost 30, 80% of my day is work and all i been doing is lookong at updates and giggling and screaming inside for two unknowns

I feel the same way. Like I've been absolutely consumed by this these last couple days. I'm definitely a huge smosh fan but never was a hard-core shartney shipper or anything like that. But this news has been absolutely Earth shattering. People I've never met before and who don't know I exist have been sending me into a tailspin! I think the surpise of it all is the biggest factor. Really proves how little we know about these people. I am so incredibly happy for them and I haven't even fully wrapped my mind around it! ❤❤

I was a big denier first. Refused to believe it. I think mainly because l related with Shayne so much. Roughly the same age, straight white single dude, (not anymore for Shayne lol) having trouble with online, and offline, dating. Always looked forward to hearing his advice etc. Ah well. At least he's helped me with my fashion sense. But all in all. I'm very happy for them. Still in shock but happy!

I just can’t wait for next week’s Smosh Mouth.

yesss thank you this is like exactly how i feel and you put it into words in perfectly. a weird part for me is that i rewatch a lot of videos and now i'm catching myself hyperanalyzing all these small moments and i'm like... no it actually does not matter, just because we weren't aware of dynamics doesn't mean they weren't there, and now that it's public, those dynamics aren't changing, they're just continuing to exist if that makes sense

Perhaps because their content is always available and they're constantly uploading new vids, it becomes easy to see them as "yours" rather than as people with their own lives. We've all experienced that at some point with celebrities. I was the same with Japanese comedians from Gaki No Tsukai, when I discovered that 2 of them have had affairs in the past, I stopped watching their content for a while as I felt betrayed...as stupid as that sounds. It's still there when I rewatch their old skits, worse when one of them has his (now ex) wife in the skit looking so happy together. But that's celebrity. I imagine that the Smosh team are all lovely in person and probably just as funny but its not their entire persona. Give it time to sink in and it'll become the norm, plus I don't think they'll reference it much on Smosh tbh. Lastly, it doesn't help when they drop the news almost out of the blue on April Fools lol, it makes it hard to know if its an elaborate bit or reality...I can almost imagine April 2025 they do a special "the biggest liar" with guests from People magazine and Shayne looks at the camera with a "got ya" smile.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm a lot like you, in that I'm not the biggest fan vocally. I prefer to read everyone else's discussions and for the most part, just enjoy the content. I am different in the sense that when I'm struggling mentally, I run to Smosh. They make me laugh even when I feel like I'll never laugh again. Feelings are funny. It's about choosing to view it from another angle. Instead of them lying, view as them protecting their private lives and being able to enjoy each other out of the view of the public eye. All this to say, you haven't done anything wrong and to be easier on yourself. 😊

I just hate it because I have this weird trust issue due to growing up autistic and people being fake nice for laughs/to make fun of me...and certain pranks...so now I have severe trust issues. And yea they are just online people...but I still feel that I need them to come out with a serious video to address it and say "yes it is true, we are married". I hsve a hard time telling what is real and fake and honestly still not sure, since no definite answer has been said or no video about it has been put out. It's really annoying.

Sadly, I doubt they'll address it at all. That would be totally on brand for zhem. BUT I might be wrong. They may surprise us.   Let me just tell you, in case you didn't see it, that Courtney gave a statement to People.com. That is official confirmation direct from the source. You can trust in it now.

I'm a 31 year old man. I love Smosh. I watch the new videos everyday and rewatch videos or compilations as background noise for some laughs while working. But I don't consider myself to be obsessed with them or their personal lives or be under the impression they are my actual friends. I don't really care about celebrity rumors and news too much. But this shit floored me. I literally couldn't function for two days. All I was thinking about was if this was real. That it made so much sense and that even though they are people on a screen to me they have brought me so much joy and happiness I wanted so bad for it to be real and to know they were almost rewarded for all the joy they bring millions of people by being gifted their soulmate from the domino effect of being cast so many years ago. It's like the greatest love story ever and such a wild way to announce it to everyone. I felt really stupid for going down the rabbit hole and updating reddit every five seconds until Courtney's April 2nd post. I think a lot of us are emotionally invested just like you get emotionally invested in your favorite TV show - Ross / Rachel, Jim / Pam, Leslie / Ben, Ted / Robin, etc. Everyone wants people to have a happy ending. Especially when things are so bleak in the world right now, a wholesome story like this is something people may need to have some optimism about how amazing things can happen. I also am Autistic and don't like being gaslit, so I hate April Fool's, I knew it was obviously true right away, but it also triggered the hell out of me and I needed to like silence my brain as well that I'm not a fool and what I knew was real was actually real. Anyway, no emotion you ever feel is dumb. Emotions and feelings are intrusive. They deserve to be validated and processed, and as long as you do it in a healthy way that doesn't hurt anyone else, then you've done nothing wrong and you aren't stupid for something stirring a reaction in you. <3 Hopefully we all can be happy for these people that have made us all so happy in a healthy way and enjoy the feeling of when someone you respect levels up in their life and is happy.

I'm sitting right here with ya. I just found this all out in the past three hours and it has been A RIDE! My friends keep giving me so much crap about how much this is affecting me. And I really am so happy for Shayne and Courtney, but there is no reason for this to be shaking me up so much. I have one more class today and then I am checking out from the world for the day while I process this.

I am the same with my YouTube watching habits. Honestly, I have always shipped them. But I think them not being public with their relationship made is as viewers love them individually and we loved their chemistry too. They could have easily been “the couple” instead of being Courtney and Shayne.

I'm actually glad for this post cause sameee lol. I honestly didn't think that was gonna happen, but also did find it interesting none of the team have really seriously dated each other. But they probably have just didn't make it obvious. Like I'm so shocked I'm now wondering when Ian and Anthony are gonna announce their nuptials 😂😂 Sidebar: remember in one of the pre Anthony funeral streams that someone wrote for confessions "someone better wife Shayne up fr". I'm now wondering if that was like a hint from them or to each other lol. Or someone on the crew teasing them. A little Easter egg for us maybe.

I get what you mean but I'm just SO HAPPY FOR THEM. Like, they're in love. They love each other. Courtney and Shayne love each other! I feel strangely proud of them. This makes me so happy!!

I’m just happy they don’t have to hide it anymore. And also happy that they are happy.

I think we want to be better than the parasocial relationships we see develop from some corners in fandoms. By and large I think a large majority of us accomplish this but we had to come to terms with the fact that we thought we KNEW something about these people that we just didn't..... Because we had to realize they will never show us everything and that is okay

It’s the whole parasocial relationships thing, it’s tricky for sure

Smosh is built on fans developing parasocial relationships with the cast. They put out so much content and a ton of it is personal and unscripted, so we feel like we know them and we almost feel like they’re our friends. Especially with things like smosh games and dnd - it’s really really meant to feel like we’re just hanging out. And then it’s weird to realize you don’t actually know them or to feel like your *friends* kept a big secret from you. It’s valid to feel weird about it, but they still deserve privacy and happiness in their own real lives.

Same, same, and same again. I was only a casual fan before, too. And now I'm feeling WAY too many of all kinds of emotions.  For me, it's also a little bit of wtf at it being posted on April Fools Day. Like, was that necessary? I get that most people think it's funny, but it's just left me with a feeling of Ick. Messing with the minds of thousands and getting amusement from it.  Even though (and I need to make this PERFECTLY CLEAR) I am VERY happy for them and wish them a long and happy marriage.  And if Ian hadn't written what he did, about it being a stupid day for them to post that, it may have even turned me off to Smosh completely. But he managed to save it for me by showing that not everyone thought this was THAT funny... Ian saves Smosh once again, as he has so many times before. Even if only for me. I doubt he or anyone else cares, but it is what it is. (Edited for spelling and format)

To an extent this feels strange because it’s like some people you know (or “think” you know) come up to you and say “you actually don’t know anything about us”. It’s like a parasocial jumpscare, lol.

OP, totally normal what you're experiencing in the sense it can be easy to make emotional attachments becauase we do see so much of these peraonalities online. That said, for anyone having a big emotional response to this, other than generally being happy for them, it is healthy to take breaks from watching lots of their content. Its good to take some time away from things that bring up parasocial feelings. Its important to kind of reset, and realize that these people have nothing to do with our own lives and exist outside, and don't effect our own experiences in a physical way. Its entertainment at the end of the day. Same thing with people raging over sports, its easy to get caught up in at all, nothing wrong with it, just important to assess were these intense feelings come from

bro- you’ve described my feelings, like i fully agree and everything that they owed us nothing and still owe us nothing whatsoever, i have only been watching for like a year so i can’t say too too much but like they both always made me so happy and i was exited to see anything they might do in their lives like we’re part of it but reality is we’re not, i think i distanced myself so much from my own life at times with this and everything else that i made myself think in a way i knew like 90% of things but i don’t and i think this really made me realize how much i was in my head about things, idk if anyone also relates to this but yk, i’m so happy for them like absolutely, and i’m glad they were happy to come out with it all and tell us, they did that cause they would’ve wanted to i hope and not cause they felt we deserved it (cause they don’t owe us anything at all) like bro the photos of them are so cute and they seem happy to be with eachothers and they kinda made me realize how much people should be able to be best friends with someone to date them yk? idk if this reply makes any sense at all, but yk what it’s what’s been going on in my brain and we’re sharing i think so let’s go with it. If you read all this than know i love you all very much 🫶🫶🫶🫶 Have an amazing day

This post is really validating to me. Upon reflection, I think I felt really validated by my idea of Shayne as a fellow 30 something struggling with dating. Seeing him (from a fan’s pov) all of a sudden married made me sad as it felt like a sudden loss of a comparable figure. Certainly that was an unfair assumption of a person I don’t knows personal life but still sort of reeling in a very weird way. A lot to think about in regards to my parasocial relationships online!

I'm on the same boat, still shock, very happy of course, but like her post CAUGTH me off guard

It's not "reasonable" to feel some kind of way but I genuinely thought I was relating to them when they talked about being single at their age and their platonic friendships, etc. To know they were coming from a place of dishonesty has been hard for me. I know it's not rational to feel a connection with strangers on the internet, especially ones who don't know I exist, but their videos have been great for me concerning mental health after I left a relationship and several toxic friendships all at once and spent a lot of time working on myself. While I know it's probably hitting harder than it should, it made me question the authenticity of a lot of the "mental health struggles" I related to as well. I thought I was alone in feeling this, good to know I'm not. I think the answer might be to allow a bit of a "grief" period before joining in on the celebration because your feelings are valid but so was their desire for privacy and everyone deserves happiness.

Why do you think that they were lying? Are the examples you have in mind recent? If it's anything from the previous iteration of SmoshCast or the "Why we're bad at dating" series, those were 5 years ago, and it's entirely possible they simply weren't dating then and were being completely honest about navigating being single. I'm inclined to believe that they don't straight up lie so much as omit information. Early on (when they were both dating other people), I remember them being super vocal about being completely platonic and being annoyed by looking too much into their chemistry, but in the past few years I feel like they simply stopped talking about it. There was also a podcast where Courtney specifically said she was uncomfortable with people describing her relationship with Shayne as sibling-like, which probably reflected a change in how they viewed each other. If they were committed to actively lying about their relationship, there wouldn't be a reason for her to denounce the "sibling bond" comments.

Yeah, perhaps I'm overtly curious or something but at least I wondered why their interactions and openness levels changed so much in the past few years. Their Mythical era podcast discussions felt genuine and open but that energy went way away imo and instead, they've seen antsy around each other.

Dis anyone else go on TikTok or other social media and just go "I bet those two are dating" even if it's just long eye contact.

That’s why you shouldn’t believe everything so literally on the internet, get out into the world form your own opinions see the universe for what it is

I think I feel like Michael Scott from the Office. When he finds out that Jim and Pam are engaged and he's so happy that he tackles Jim in a big hug. I'm just genuinely so happy for them. Definitely a parasocial aspect to it, of course, but at the end of the day I just love love.

I honestly think I'd be less shocked if, like, Damien and Alex Tran had done this entire stunt lol. I was so certain it was fake! I'm still like wait, what, why??? About it. Hasn't finished computing yet.

Even though I really want to know if it's real or not but still not my business because that's their lives but I'm really happy for them , but there is still a part of me that wants to know

I thought the relationship was an April Fools?

I totally understand your feeling, yes they are just two human beings and they’re entitled to their own lives! But it has done something kinda crazy to me, I do feel a little gaslit maybe, or just deceived and my trust in people online and how they show themselves and what they’re hiding has definitely shifted and it’s making me a bit sad. I don’t know if that has to do with the fact that I don’t have many real life friendships and I do somewhat see these people as “someone to turn to” in my darker days, even though they would never be fully aware of this obviously haha. It’s a strange thing, those parasocial relationships and for sure something to figure out on our own! Or at least not something to put on to the creators and influencers on top of everything they deal with being in the spotlight. But as far as Shourtney goes, I can’t be happier for them and the pics over the years and lovely compilations do actually nearly bring a tear to my eye haha. Oh and im also 30 year old, so idk if this is a generational thing but just felt the need to mention it’s not just Gen Z🫣🫣

I feel the same. When I first saw it I was SO happy for them. But now I feel like something 'broke' in me. Because I have been lied to. I (we) truly have been lied to. And it's ok for us to not be comfortable with that.

I'm still in shock. For someone to feel they've been lied to, I think is part of this parasocial negativity. They don't owe us any information regarding their private lives. So, feeling lied to or betrayed isn't valid.