Dexerto had the chance to speak with Shayne Topp and Courtney Miller of Smosh fame about their thoughts on the future of the famous YouTube group and why they kept their relationship private for so long.
If you’ve been watching Smosh for any amount of time over the past six years, you’ll likely recognize Shayne Topp and Courtney Miller, two of the group’s biggest stars.
Throughout their time on Smosh, fans began pairing them together, wishing they’d become an official couple… and on April 1st, 2024, the two announced that they had tied the knot, sending viewers for a loop.
It turns out they’d been dating for some time, but chose to keep things on the down-low until the time was right. When asked why they kept their relationship under wraps, we ended up delving into a discussion about how creators draw the line between content and their real lives, as well as their appreciation for their fanbase and how viewers handled the news about their marriage.
“What’s important to us is keeping that line of what’s content and what is our personal life,” Shayne told us.
“In this field, we are the content, so you have to determine like, okay, what is our job and what is our regular life? When we leave our studio, what are the things that we come home to and are for us? I think that was a large part of it. We were very grateful for keeping it for ourselves for so long, but I think it just hit a point where it was like, ‘Okay, it’ll be easier for us to let everyone know.’
“We were really glad that we put the announcement out when we did, because it would’ve been really painful to keep something [like that in],” Courtney added.
“You know, relationships aren’t anyone’s business, but it is a big part of who we are. I said this on the podcast when we had a tell-all where it felt like coming out again, and it just being like a breath of fresh air. We never kept it a huge secret when we’d be out in public. You know, when people hold hands, when they’re going places and stuff, we never denied our relationship’s experience, but we both just care about our jobs so much, and we’ve always been very professional about that.
“I think there was a fear of… there’s a lot of couples on YouTube who do it really well, but it can be scary, because couples on YouTube can have a lot of pressure, and we’re just comedians first.”
The two expressed to me how grateful they were for the overwhelmingly positive reaction their fans had to the news of their marriage — something neither of them expected.
“They embraced it so well, and they have shown in these months after the announcement that they really are here for our comedy and our friendships amongst all of us at Smosh,” Shayne said. “With the internet, I’m expecting everything, so I think I was surprised that I felt like it was almost entirely positive.”
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Courtney echoed this sentiment, admitting to being afraid of how the LGBTQ community would respond to her marrying a man as a bisexual and pansexual woman. “Yeah, I had a lot of fear going into it being a pan/bi person, like a fear of, ‘I married a man,’ and people are like, ‘Well then, you aren’t bi.’ There’s a lot of that erasure out there,” she told us.
“We assumed people would be happy, but it was actually insane how explosive and how celebratory it was, and getting emotional at times. People being like, ‘Oh, I believe in love again.’ ‘Oh, it’s so cool to see you marrying your best friend.’ And yeah, like I think it’s really cool when the internet has positive relationships that are healthy and can still be functioning in our jobs, as well.”
The two explained to us how they manage to find a balance between their private lives and their careers as influencers — a job that can toe the line between what’s personal and what’s available for the whole world to see.
“It can be tough at times, but I think it’s a decision that you make with certain things,” Shayne explained. “Some things do become public, like people know about it, but for me, it’s more of like, ‘What’s content and what’s not?’ You know, there are things that we share and it’s fine, but I think, as you probably see with so many people here at VidCon, some people’s entire life is their content.
“You can monetize every aspect of your life, and some people can do it and they’re okay, but for me, it’s less about what the reception is gonna be. I’m always more scared of, ‘What’s that gonna do to me? Like, how am I gonna handle that? Am I gonna be able to handle that?’ I think that’s where I draw the line.”
Shayne and Courtney have been with Smosh for years and are a key part of the group’s dynamic. While Shayne comes from an acting background in TV and film, Courtney’s very first audition was for Smosh. When I asked the pair about their thoughts on the future of Smosh and whether or not they could see themselves ever leaving the group to pursue other ventures, they both said the same thing — no.
“I don’t see us leaving one day,” Courtney answered. “I’ve had such a blast here. Recently, on Anthony’s ‘Spend A Day With’ show, talked about how I literally almost quit Smosh a few months before he came back. And I’m so glad I didn’t, because the job came back to being everything that I loved about it. It’s everything that I had hoped the job would be since the beginning, too.
“It sounds like we’re gonna be getting back into really fun, big projects that we’ve been doing in the past, like trying movie-related stuff, or getting back to music videos and things. We’re in a really good place. Where Smosh is at now is really solid, and we’re gonna be able to start trying crazy stuff again.”
“I don’t think there’s any world where leaving Smosh would ever be necessary, you know?” Shayne said. “Even if I booked a TV show where I was the lead, in any time that I had, I would still want to come back and do sketches and stuff. I think I’m always gonna be a part of it, even in the scenarios where I’m working on some other big thing. But for the foreseeable future, I’m having a blast working at Smosh.”
Shayne says that he’s still open to any and all acting opportunities that come his way — but no matter how busy he gets on the big or the small screen, he and Courtney will always make time for Smosh.