MrBeast gets ENGAGED to Thea Booysen on Christmas Day as YouTube icon plans island wedding
YouTube sensation MrBeast has announced his engagement to Thea Booysen.
The social media star, 26, real name James Donaldson, popped the question to gaming streamer Booysen, 27, on Christmas Day.
MrBeast – whose channel has the highest number of YouTube subscribers in the world with 340 million – has been in a relationship with Booysen since 2022.
He told it People: ‘My family flew out of South Africa for Christmas and we were going to spend Christmas at our home, so both families were here. We were opening presents, and for the very last gift he asked me to close my eyes because it was a surprise.
‘I purposely dropped a large box to make a noise before offering her the real gift – with the ring inside. And then I got down on my knee and proposed.”
“I was trying to figure out the best way to catch her off guard so it would be a surprise. Thea has a very close relationship with her family, so I wanted to make sure they were included in this momentous event. Christmas turned out well because they were in town from the other side of the world.’
YouTube sensation MrBeast has announced his engagement to Thea Booysen – pictured on December 18
In contrast to his spectacular videos, the star said he wanted the proposal to be intimate.
Booysen’s ring is a ‘beautiful’ diamond on a rose gold band with extra diamonds on either side.
The pair first connected when MrBeast visited Booysen’s native South Africa when a mutual friend invited them both for dinner.
The couple are now eagerly planning a tropical wedding – and found inspiration for their big day after a holiday on Richard Branson’s Necker Island.
MrBeast said: “We’re thinking about doing it on an island somewhere where we’re away from pretty much everyone. We’re not going to try to have a big, extravagant wedding.”
In 2022, Thea spoke about their blossoming romance.
She said, “Going out like Mr. Beast’s [girlfriend] was super scary. You often hear statements like, “Oh, she’s going to break his heart,” or, “She’s going to be a gold digger.”
But the streamer explained that she tries not to take the negative comments to heart as the haters “don’t even know her.”
“I don’t take it seriously at all, I know this is the process that will happen because people obviously assume the worst,” she continued. ‘They don’t even know [me].’
The social media star, 26, real name James Donaldson, popped the question on Christmas Day to gaming streamer Booysen, 27,
The couple are now eagerly planning a tropical wedding – and found inspiration for their big day after a holiday on Necker Island from Richard Branson
The couple first made their relationship public in March 2022, when she shared a photo of them together on her Instagram, captioning it, “Mr. Beast and Beasty,” next to a heart.
They made their red carpet debut in April when they attended the Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles.
Mr. Beast was previously linked to fellow influencer Maddy Spidell, with whom he dated for three years before they split in early 2022.