Popular YouTube couple with nearly nine million subscribers announce they are splitting.. and their fans are devastated
Jesse Wellens and Jeana Smith were the couple behind popular channel BFvsGF
A COUPLE who became YouTube icons by sharing their lives online have sensationally split up, leaving their millions of fans devastated.
Jesse Wellens and Jeana Smith, both 33, founded their channel BFvsGF in 2009, and have gained nearly nine million subscribers in the years since.
But there was clearly unseen trouble in paradise all along, leading to the pair announcing their recent split in an emotional ten-minute video titled: “A New Chapter.”
The couple are typically known for uploading upbeat vlogs featuring pranks and jokey challenges, but this is set to come to an end after they made the split announcement last week.
The former couple from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said that making their announcement felt like “telling a bunch of kids that their parents are getting divorced.”
But the ‘YouTube famous’ couple had more than just a bunch of fans, with views on their videos approaching the 2.6 billion mark before they split.
The break-up video, which has already been watched by over 4.5 million people, shows the duo wracked with emotion as they try to explain their decision to end their relationship, with comments on the video disabled because the couple “can't be publicly judged on [their] relationship anymore.”
Jeana tells the pair’s fans that their relationship isn’t as perfect as it seems on the surface, as Jesse says that he is planning to move to New York City, whilst Jeana will remain in Philadelphia.
He said that their now “toxic” relationship was masked by the “fun and games” which fans see on the surface, and added that the pair are taking a “break” from both vlogging and their relationship.
He said: “It sucks and I know a lot of you guys are going to be mad at us but at this point I don't care, I just need to be sane...I'd rather make bigger production stuff that isn't so much about my personal life. It's not healthy.”
Fighting through tears, Jeana says: “Everybody thinks we have a perfect life, but it’s not at all.
“Everybody has problems, everybody has issues, and we choose not to put that in the videos usually.”
Her ex-boyfriend adds: “We share our life with you every day.
“In the beginning it’s really fun, but when it starts to feel like a job, that puts a huge burden on your relationship.”
The pair confirmed that they wouldn’t make daily vlogs together again, but didn’t rule out the possibility of them working together, with the pair ending the emotional video with declarations of their love for each other.
With fans shocked, Jesse offered a further explanation in the days following the announcement, revealing that he was moving away to try and track down his long lost daughter.
He said on Twitter: “Chapter six: Brooklyn...Ok yes I may have a daughter. We never met and its killing me. It's a long and crazy story. I need to get off my chest and find her...
“I feel like if I send this energy out onto the Internet about my daughter I might actually be able to find her. She was adopted. Family in NYC”