YouTube icon engaged in surprise Christmas Day proposal after three year relationship
YouTube’s most successful star, MrBeast, has announced his engagement. The social media star, whose real name is James Donaldson, proposed to his girlfriend, gamer Thea Booysen, on Christmas Day. The couple have been together since early 2022 after they met at a dinner in Thea’s native South Africa and they first went public as a couple in March of that year, when Thea shared a photo on Instagram of the two of them along with the words “Mr and Mrs Beasty.”
James is best known for his YouTube videos that feature elaborate challenges and lucrative giveaways, which have earned him over 340 million subscribers. He was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2023, and also made the Forbes list for the highest paid YouTube creator in 2022.
He uploaded his first video to YouTube when he was 13, and originally became known for videos where he played along to games like Minecraft and Call Of Duty, and clips where he offered tips and criticisms for other YouTube creators. Stunts including his breakthrough viral video, where he counted to 100,000 on camera, and another where 32 influencers played rock, paper, scissors for a grand prize of $250,000 made him the most watched creator on YouTube.
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James announced his and Thea’s engagement with a post saying: “Ya boy did a thing,” along with a short video of Thea showing the ring. The couple also shared a collection of photos in which he and Thea are both wearing Christmas Mr Beast sweaters as he got down on one knee.
In an interview with People announcing their engagement, Thea shared the details of the proposal. "My family flew out from South Africa for Christmas and we were going to do Christmas in our house so both families were here. We were opening presents, and then for the very last present he asked me to close my eyes because it was a surprise," she said.
James has revealed that, even though he is known for his large and elaborate stunts, he wanted their engagement to be small and intimate, and their wedding will be private as well. "This will definitely be more family and friends — definitely more private," he said, while Thea hinted that the location may be an island “where we are far away from just about everybody.”
Fans were quick to congratulate the couple, with some even joking about the proposal, asking whether Thea had “won a game,” referring to MrBeast’s well known online challenges and giveaways. Another wrote: “She had just to say yes or no? No challenge and 15 minigames before all of that?” to which James good naturedly replied: “The challenge is now she has to spend 80 years with me ha ha.”
