Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals. Back in my day, when it was time to announce a new relationship, we would take to Facebook to change our single status. Something about that “in a relationship with” update really felt like a major life achievement. Nowadays, we’re seeing Instagram girlies soft launch their significant others by teasing Story posts of someone’s left shoulder or a Diddy-cropped photo with just their person’s eyebrow visible. Only the official couples get to revel in the celebratory relationship hard launch.
Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals.
Back in my day, when it was time to announce a new relationship, we would take to Facebook to change our single status. Something about that “in a relationship with” update really felt like a major life achievement. Nowadays, we’re seeing Instagram girlies soft launch their significant others by teasing Story posts of someone’s left shoulder or a Diddy-cropped photo with just their person’s eyebrow visible. Only the official couples get to revel in the celebratory relationship hard launch. ... (READ MORE)
Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals.
Back in my day, when it was time to announce a new relationship, we would take to Facebook to change our single status. Something about that “in a relationship with” update really felt like a major life achievement. Nowadays, we’re seeing Instagram girlies soft launch their significant others by teasing Story posts of someone’s left shoulder or a Diddy-cropped photo with just their person’s eyebrow visible. Only the official couples get to revel in the celebratory relationship hard launch.
I see you, Lizzo.
The game has slightly changed in a space where content creators and influencers are building their personal brands while showcasing what seems to be the ins and out of their lives. Not only are these individuals launching their partners on social media, but they are also building brands and creating content with them.
As a single hot girl who is also very online, I’m curious how this works. In my mind, celebrity couples like Beyoncé and Jay-Z or David and Victoria Beckham are iconic because, as individuals, they are powerful. Of course, when they collab, they’re even more impressive. I mean, have you listed to EVERYTHING IS LOVE?
However, I always wonder if there are ever feelings of hesitation or concern about collaborating with someone you’re in love with. After all, I grew up hearing the golden rule—never mix business with pleasure. To get some new perspective, I spoke to six couples who are navigating the world of digital content as lovers and creators and asked them to share their advice for individuals who want to collaborate with their significant others.
#1 | Jeri & Mike Wirtz
📍Los Angeles, CA
❤️ Their advice: “[Just] go for it! Since we're both retired, we have the time to do it, and connecting with everyone has given us a lot of joy. Plus, our kids and grandkids think we're cool!”
Jeri and Mike met in 1976 while living in the same apartment complex. One day they saw each other at the pool and started talking. About a week later, Mike asked Jeri out. They have been married for 45 years and have two children and three grandchildren. At 71, the two fell into the world of content creation by happenstance.
“Our son, Ryan, posted a video of us on his TikTok page, and it went viral with over one million views! He convinced us to create a couples page, and it instantly became a success, so much so that The Sherri Shepherd Show reached out to us and interviewed us on her talk show.”
The couple now has over 77.5 thousand followers on Instagram and 160.6 thousand followers on TikTok. Despite being relatively new to social media platforms, Jeri and Mike have already mastered storytelling, centering their content around their love story as an interracial couple.
“Our content tells our life story. We like to keep our content positive and fun, and we hope to inspire others to live authentically and fearlessly.”
Fearlessness is a word that this couple embodies well. Despite both battling cancer (Jeri was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and Mike with prostate cancer), they continue to celebrate their most significant memories and the joys they share today. While they have amassed a large following across platforms, they admit that there is still a learning curve.
“We started our page about four months ago, so we are still learning about brand partnerships. That is something we hope to do soon! A couple of brands have reached out, such as Tipsy Elves, who sent some beautiful gifts. We are so thankful that people are interested in us and our content.”
Until then, Jeri and Mike are just getting started and are showcasing that at any age, you can do anything you want in life, at any age, no matter what obstacle is in your way.
“It has been a whirlwind, and we love every moment. You only live once, so make the best of it!”
#2 | Karl & Erry Haase-Guerrier
📍New Jersey
❤️ Their advice: “Being a content creator is a very nuanced role. It's having a niche and also being spontaneous and not so predictable. Today's digital aesthetic is very minimal, but it's also important to be vibrant, edgy, and interesting. It's learning to carefully leverage stereotypes to your advantage while also trying to bust them. We would advise [people], single or with a partner, to consistently work to grow and be multi-dimensional.”
Karl and Erry, who met on Grindr in 2018 and later married in 2020, have been together for five years. The husbands from Haiti and Jamaica, respectively, create content focused on their adventures as a queer, Caribbean couple—which they describe as a “gay-ribbean” paradise—hoping to inspire and encourage their community to live authentically.
“We wanted to be a part of the conversation and representation when it comes to the Black gay experience. Even though that experience is on a spectrum, we still didn't see anyone who looked and talked like us and shared somewhat of our experience as Black, queer, Caribbean-immigrant men. We wanted to help change the narrative for our folks back home and paint queerness in a humanistic light.”
The couple has come a long way since 2018. So far, they have partnered with global brands like Snapchat, ALDO, and Facebook and hope to partner with even more. In the meantime, they are working on building their empire with trust as the foundation.
“When what starts as a passion becomes a business and a brand, it's hard not to take disagreements personally and not be headstrong with one another when [things] need to go in a certain direction. So much of your personal life is online for public consumption and opinion, so it's important to trust one another and move as one.”
#3 | Ming and Ben Qiu
📍New York City
❤️ Their advice: “Creating content as a duo presents a unique dynamic compared to working independently. When you're working with your significant other, it's a lot more collaborative. You get to give each other feedback and see things from different angles. The best part is that you get to go through the whole process together, the good and the bad. Our advice for other creators who want to create content with their significant other is to take things as they come and go and remember that this is a journey to enjoy! Go for it with managed expectations. Enjoy the process because it is the most important part and may be even more important than the end goal. Even if it doesn't work out, it's worth trying and exploring. When things go well, you get to celebrate together. It's like having a built-in support system!”
Ming and Ben are New Yorkers who crossed paths in college. Despite their busy schedules, they always shared a love for food and the city. One day they decided to turn their passion for food (and each other) into something more, and that’s how The Bing Buzz came to be. Ming and Ben’s content is about sharing their discovery of new restaurants and tasty foods with their community.
“On YouTube, we like to dive in and talk about specific restaurants, dishes, and experiences or what’s going on in our life in general. On Instagram and TikTok, we like to show a more dynamic side, from going on food tours to taking actual strangers we bump into on the streets to their favorite food spots. We enjoy showing local favorites through other people's perspectives. No matter what platform we're on, the goal is always the same—to connect with the humans of New York and beyond over experiences.”
That goal ultimately led the duo to become content creators, although both needed to gain more knowledge of how to be creators.
“We were excited to learn more and explore. One of us had a background in photography and videography, so we began to experiment and develop our skills. Through this process, we discovered the positive potential and lasting impact social media can have, such as supporting small businesses, and have since set our sights on more ambitious goals for our content creation.”
Although they acknowledge that creating content as a duo isn’t all “sunshine and rainbows,” Ming and Ben’s goals feel more attainable, knowing that they’re working towards them together.
“The strides we’ve made thus far wouldn't have been possible with just one of us. We use each other's strengths and work together to reach our goals. It's pretty special to share a passion and work on it with the person you love. Plus, the memories we capture in our content will be something we can look back on forever. That’s why our Instagram tagline on @thebingbuzz is ‘filming vids 4 our grandkids to watch someday’.”
#4 | Miya Ogle-Iverson & Shayna Iverson
📍Tampa, FL
❤️ Their advice: “Be patient with each other, find common interests, have fun, and make sure you both enjoy it. Be organized, consider each other’s schedule, and share the workload evenly so you feel like a team. Also, only share what you’re comfortable with, not just what you think people want to see.”
Miya and Shayna met on Tinder in the UK in August 2018 and are newly married. They create lifestyle content around their relationship, fashion, and travel adventures. With Miya being a British Jamaican and Shayna Caribbean American, they wanted to be a positive representation of Black queer couples, especially femme couples with different nationalities.
For them, creating content as a couple makes it less complicated to bring innovative ideas to life.
“You have another person's energy to bounce off of, and it [doesn’t] feel as lonely. [It’s] seemingly more daunting and awkward to take pictures and videos yourself.”
However, the spouses recognize that creating content with a partner still presents its challenges.
“Disadvantages can come into play when our lives get busy, and we may fall off of creating content regularly. This could be one of us at a time or both together. We can also get impatient with each other when it takes a while to create content or if we’re not happy with how it turns out.”
Even though a content creation relationship can be complex, Miya and Shayna are still excited to grow their brand. So far, they’ve been able to secure several partnerships.
“Together, we have partnered with a fashion brand, a fitness app named Fitale, and Health By Habit, a vitamin brand. The advantages are having someone else to motivate you, share the workload, do something fun together, and get to see each other looking cute and dressed up (even though they always look good.”
#5 | Alice & Clark Campbell
📍Los Angeles, CA
❤️ Their advice: “Learn how you both make content together, not just the workflow that suits you best.”
Alice and Clark, also known as That High Couple, first met on OkCupid after discovering they had a 96% compatibility rating. Since then, they’ve been together for a decade and married for four years.
Alice, a social media manager for several California dispensaries, and Clark, who works in e-commerce and with content creators, utilize their marketing skills to develop their content around cannabis culture and education.
“We decided to be content creators because we didn't see any other couple creators focused on cannabis consumption. It's a narrow lane, but we wanted to be the first couple of cannabis besides Cheech and Chong. We cover a variety of content formats, from unboxings to tutorials, interviews, and event coverage. We try to create a fun, safe, creative space online for our followers and us to explore and discuss our passion for cannabis.”
The couple shared that while there is sometimes frustration during the creation process, especially when it comes to taking risks, having your person’s support is everything.
“There's an immediate short-hand communication that happens when working with your significant other. The process to discuss and decide moves much quicker, plus you never have to dedicate time away from the person you want to spend the most time with.”
Whether partnering with brands or sharing a joint, they agree that any partnership starts with a foundation of love.
“It’s the best partnership glue!”
#6 | Rita Ashemeza & Evan Dingle
📍Lugano, Switzerland
❤️ Their advice: “Some couples might have one in the relationship that wants to create content [while the] other wants nothing to do with it. Be prepared for that, and don't force it on the other person. You can still find a way to create content with your interests and passions. If you really want your partner to join you, take it slow and don't expect them to devote themselves overnight. Ask them, ‘If you could create content about anything in the world, what would you be most interested in?’ Use that as a starting point and see if you can combine your interests with theirs. Find common ground.”
Rita Ashemeza and Evan Dingle, known as Ash and Evan on the interwebs, met in Uganda at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ash was working as an entertainment journalist in Kampala, and Evan was a communications manager for a nonprofit in Jinja. After Evan made a TikTok about a local dish called kikomando, Ash discovered it and followed him on Instagram. The two developed a friendship and began dating six months later. Last year, they got engaged and shared their now-viral proposal video on TikTok, in which Evan proposed to Ash in her native language.
“We make vlogs about our travels and the everyday life of being a Ugandan-American couple in Switzerland and Uganda. It's not often that you see interracial couples in East Africa where the guy is the foreigner and close to the same age as his partner, so I think people are interested in seeing something new like that.”
While the couple has grown their community to over 160 thousand followers across platforms together, Ash led the charge into becoming content creators.
“It was Ash's dream, and I jumped on board. We started by doing TikToks together before starting a YouTube and Instagram account. Getting to create content together is like making a scrapbook of memories. We'll always be able to look back on our lives in detail, which is really cool.”
The couple’s love for travel, culture, and community has manifested itself beyond the content they create. Ash and Evan are leading a fundraiser that provides sustainable menstrual pads to girls in Uganda.
“Ash grew up without access to menstrual products, which can be quite difficult during school-age years. Many girls miss school for fear of embarrassment and discomfort, so we started a menstrual health project in her village and started training girls to sew reusable pads.”
Ash and Evan find success in their relationship when they prioritize each other.
“Put your relationship first over social media. A better connection means better content.”
15 More Creator Couples To Follow
Couples Who Create Together Stay Together
After learning more about these creators’ stories and hearing about their passion for their partners and work, I can definitely say I am a believer. While I can’t necessarily imagine myself being a part of an “Instagram couple,” I believe there is beauty in working with someone who knows all the parts of you that even your most engaged followers don’t get to see.
Our relationship with ourselves is one of the most important ones we can focus on, so I can only imagine that having a loving partner who supports you only helps bring out the best in you and, of course, your content.