Influencer, 21, defends her romance with 16-year-old amateur boxer after she was branded ‘insane’ over the age gap – as she insists their relationship is ‘legal’ despite furious backlash

A social media influencer is defending her decision to enter into a romantic relationship with a 16-year-old boy after people called her “crazy.”

Tasha Newcombe, 21, from Kent, recently dated 16-year-old Marko Vituk from Maidstone. The new couple both shared the news on their social media accounts.

But since the couple made their relationship official, they have received a flood of criticism from viewers, who have called their relationship “crazy” due to the five-year age gap between them.

In response to the ongoing controversy, the 21-year-old recently shared more details about their relationship on TikTok, stressing that she initially hesitated about approaching Mark, who is of GCSE age, but that they had a “healthy, happy and loving relationship.”

Tasha, who works as a party representative, says she has been “doing social media for six years” and now has 263.3K on TikTok, with 10 million likes for her glamorous, party-focused videos.

Tasha pictured alongside her boyfriend, Marko Vituk (left), and a friend. The pair appeared together on The Bro’Cast Podcast, where Tasha said she never expected “the level” of backlash the two have received

She described her three-month relationship with Marko as ‘legal’, despite many viewers being against it.

Although he is still in school at 16 and is currently not allowed to drink or drive, he has made a name for himself as an online influencer.

In addition to his school commitments, Marko also boxes and recently started a YouTube podcast called Empowerred, which describes itself as “A podcast taking over the net.”

In a five-minute video that has now been viewed nearly two million times, Tasha explained her side of the story via the app, telling her “haters” that she would not “tolerate” “trolls.”

She began the video by saying, “The reason I’m making this video today is obviously to talk about my relationship.

‘I’m in a relationship with someone who is five years younger than me and I know that a lot of people will have their opinion about that. And that’s right. You’re allowed to have your opinion, that’s your free will.

“I’ve seen a lot of comments and videos from bullies saying, ‘You know what you’re doing is wrong,’ and ‘That’s why you said you didn’t want to meet him.’”

The couple had initially ‘spoken’ online before deciding to meet up. However, Tasha revealed that she was hesitant to meet Marko in person because she was afraid of ‘backlash’.

Tasha pictured next to her 16-year-old boyfriend Marko. She said: ‘Even though my relationship is still very new, I just have to say that this guy is honestly the most mature, kind, loving person I have ever been in a relationship with’

Tasha is 21 years old and works as a party rep. She has been in a relationship with her 16-year-old boyfriend for almost three months

Marko, pictured posing for a social media post. Tasha said she had no idea what “challenges” their age-gap romance would bring

Tasha and Marko pictured snuggling up to each other. She described her relationship with Marko as ‘legal’, despite many viewers opposing the romance

Tasha and Marko pose for a photo together. She said the romance “has nothing to do with right or wrong” but was about people’s opinions

‘The reason I was so insecure about meeting my boyfriend or getting into a relationship with him was because of the negative reaction I would get. And honestly, that’s just a matter of opinion.

“Nothing else, opinion, that’s it. Nothing to do with what’s right or wrong, just opinion,” she insisted in the video.

‘I was also hesitant about meeting him because I’ve never dated anyone younger than me in my entire life.

‘I didn’t know what challenges that would bring, but anyway, I’m in a relationship with him now.

“It’s my life, I’m going to live my life the way I want to live my life. If I decide I want to be in a relationship with him, I can because it’s legal. Whether you think it’s morally right or not, it’s legal.

‘Even though my relationship has only just begun, I can say that this boy is honestly the most mature, kind and loving person I have ever been in a relationship with.’

She reiterates that the negative reactions are the result of ‘opinion’ and calls on viewers to ‘not express hate towards me, my friends and family.’

“I really won’t tolerate that.”

The couple received a flood of comments on their videos, with almost all of them commenting on their five-year age difference.

One commenter wrote: ‘Wait a minute, is this legal?’, while another jokingly asked: ‘Are you going to results day?’

Another commenter joked: ‘Did you sign his farewell shirt then?’, while a third said he looked like Tasha’s younger brother.

A fifth said: ‘It’s actually more than wrong, I’m worried.’

The couple have received a flood of comments on their videos, with almost all of them commenting on their five-year age difference

The couple are pictured in all-white outfits as they hold hands. She said the pair are in “a very beautiful, loving, happy and healthy relationship” despite the online accusations

Marko pictured sitting in a car. At 16, he is currently not allowed to drive or buy alcohol, unlike his girlfriend who is 21

Marko is pictured sipping a glass of water as he enjoys dinner with his 21-year-old girlfriend. Tasha shared a video describing how she got the ‘princess treatment’ from her young boyfriend

At the end of the video, Tasha makes it clear what she thinks of her critics.

“Honestly, I don’t give a damn about 12-year-olds making comments about me and my family and stuff like that. It’s grown women spewing hate towards my family,” she said.

She even said that among the condemnatory comments, she had also received “threatening” messages encouraging her to harm herself.

“What I don’t understand is if you don’t like something, a creator or a relationship, there’s a block button,” she said, referring to her trolls as “keyboard warriors.”

“Does it affect your life? No. My boyfriend and I have a very beautiful, loving, happy, healthy relationship and the fact that people are sitting there, concerned, and throwing such serious accusations at me is sick and twisted.”

Tasha Event said she had to start filtering and deleting comments for her own peace of mind.

Since uploading the video, the couple has appeared together on The Bro’Cast Podcast, where Tasha said she never expected the two to receive so much negative feedback.

The 21-year-old singer appeared on the YouTube podcast hand-in-hand and said the impact of the online controversy was affecting her mental health, but that she did her best to distract herself from the comments.

Tasha said she had muted a number of words on her account, meaning she had deleted comments containing specific phrases for her “own mental health.”