- Tana Mongeau, who has 4.5 million YouTube subscribers, and Jake Paul, who has 19 million, appear to have just gotten engaged at Mongeau's 21st birthday party after he bought her a car worth over $124,000.
- The pair have been "dating" for about two months, but openly admitted it was to fuel the rumors and to get more views. A successful experiment, since they have both gained hundreds of thousands of subscribers in the last few weeks.
- They have both featured heavily on each other's YouTube channels — making out on camera, getting matching tattoos, and taking a pregnancy test.
- Nobody could really work out if the relationship is real or not, including many other YouTubers. When asked, Mongeau said, "I don't know, sometimes." But on Twitter, she insisted the proposal was real.
- Brand consultant Brandon Relph said they are probably just enjoying themselves for now, but "history has shown things like this don't last forever."
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Two of YouTube's biggest stars are currently dating. Maybe.
For the past few months, Tana Mongeau, 21, and Jake Paul, 22, have been spending a lot of time together, but nobody can work out if their relationship is real or if it's all for show. And it's all gotten even more complicated since Paul apparently proposed to Mongeau on June 24 at her 21st birthday party.
Here's a timeline of what we know about their relationship so far.
The relationship appears to have started as a joke
At the end of April, Mongeau uploaded a selfie video to her Snapchat that sent fans into a meltdown. She had just publicly split from her cheating ex-boyfriend Brad Sousa, but eagle-eyed followers realized the bed she was filming from wasn't her own. It was later posited by KEEMSTAR on his channel DramaAlert that it belonged to Logan Paul's younger brother Jake at the Team 10 House — the mansion in Calabasas which he shares with friends.
A few days later on April 30, Mongeau uploaded a video to her channel called "Mukbang In Bed With My Rebound Jake Paul." Mukbang, meaning eating on camera, and rebound, hinting that Paul and Mongeau were an item.
At the start of the video, Mongeau added a caption saying she was with her "friend" Jake, and throughout filming, the pair joke around together, flirting and calling each other "babe."
On the same day, Paul posted a video titled "meet the girl i've been hiding from you.." where he refers to himself and Mongeau in jest as "two of the internet's biggest sociopaths." He maintains throughout the video the pair are just good friends, and they both just wanted to prove that rumors spread like wildfire on YouTube. Mongeau also admitted freely they should get together just for "the clout."
But then, confusingly, they also kiss at the end.
Since then, Paul and Mongeau have been caught in a bizarre in-between relationship, where they're sort of a couple, but sort of not. They've been featured heavily on each other's channels and referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, but at the same time joke about it as if it's all a big prank.
The pair are both not without controversy
Brand consultant Brandon Relph, who specializes in the influencer space, told INSIDER it makes sense that Mongeau and Paul would end up filming together because both their careers have both taken some controversial turns.
"There are YouTubers who are generally liked by most people, and I wouldn't put those two in that category," he said. "Jake has had lots of controversies himself, but so has she. And Tana has this weird way about her where she kind of gets to do what she likes and gets away with it."
Almost exactly a year ago, Mongeau tried to put on her own convention to rival YouTube's VidCon, called TanaCon, which resulted in over-crowding, demands for refunds, and fans passing out and getting sunburned in the California sun.
Paul has faced backlash from creators and fans alike in the past for his stunts and pranks. YouTuber Shane Dawson even made an eight-part docuseries about whether or not he could be a sociopath.
"Now do I think it's fake?" said Relph. "To an extent, but maybe not all of it. I wouldn't necessarily doubt that they're attracted to each other."
Mongeau and Paul have both appeared in each other's videos
On Paul's channel, Mongeau has appeared in at least eight of his videos over the past two months, including one documenting their "first time making out on camera," one where they take a pregnancy test, and a vlog of how Mongeau's ex "wants to fight" him.
Paul has physically featured in five of Mongeau's videos, but she has openly spoken about him in various collaborations with other creators. For example, in a video with Vlog Squad member Josh Peck, he asked whether they were really together, and Mongeau replied: "I don't know, sometimes."
When talking with YouTubers Shane Dawson, Ryland Adams, and Morgan Adams, Mongeau said she never really wanted to be monogamous (she used to be in an open polyamorous relationship with Bella Thorne until they broke up in February) unless they were the "love of her life."
"And that's Jake Paul?" Ryland asked, to which Mongeau sarcastically replied, "Yeah."
Mongeau and Paul even got matching tattoos three weeks ago — reminiscent of a video Paul made with his ex-girlfriend Erika Costell.
Costell and Paul's relationship started out as seeming like it was all for clicks, said Relph, but then it developed into something real. He suspects this could be what's happening with him and Mongeau as well — they do appear to have gotten closer since the first time they filmed together a few weeks ago.
"I don't think it's strictly like a 'come round and we'll film a video for business' thing," Relph said. "I think they genuinely hang out around that. But I do feel there's an element of over-broadcasting and over-compensating for the benefit of their careers."
Both Paul and Mongeau appear to be benefitting from the relationship by gaining subscribers
It's clear that both Paul and Mongeau have seen an increase in subscribers and viewing figures since all the speculation around them started.
Mongeau has gained over 208,000 subscribers over the last month to reach 4.5 million, according to Social Blade, a site that tracks social media statistics and analytics. Paul has gained 181,000 and has a total of 19 million.
But despite their differences in subscriber counts, Relph also believes Mongeau may be more in control over how long the relationship will go on for. She was racking up several million views per video before Paul started featuring in them, whereas Paul sees a bigger spike comparatively when she makes an appearance on his channel.
"Tana has a very, very different audience to Jake's audience," Relph said. "Jake is usually the person who brings numbers to people, but I think Tana has helped Jake more than Jake's helped Tana in this case. Because Tana has shown she can ride through controversies without needing anyone, and people still watch her."
But whether it will last forever, he said, he's not sure.
"I don't think there are any business ties between them that would force them to stay together making videos if they fall out," he said. "But I think it's one of those where it's a bit of an interesting show and an interesting study to watch."
Paul appeared to propose in June at Mongeau's 21st birthday. Mongeau showed off a diamond ring on social media.
At the beginning of June, Paul uploaded an episode of his new series "Team 10 Uncut," where he explained how the rumors started and revealed he and Mongeau decided to play up to it to get more views.
However, it's still true that the pair's relationship may have organically developed further since then.
It certainly looks like it, as Paul bought Mongeau a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen for her 21st birthday. He also proposed during her celebrations — having bar staff at a night club bring over a cake with the words "Will you marry me Tana?" iced on.
She then showed off a massive diamond ring that he apparently bought her.
"JAKE JUST PROPOSED," she wrote on Twitter just seven hours ago, with several follow-up tweets insisting it wasn't a joke.
i’m....... engaged..................
— Tana Mongeau (@tanamongeau) June 24, 2019
Maybe Paul wasn't ready to give up his new following just yet. Or maybe the pair genuinely have had a whirlwind romance and decided to spend the rest of their lives together.
"History has shown things like this don't last forever," said Relph. "I think they're just both enjoying themselves and having a good time ... We're very much in the height of Jana world at the moment, and it will be a few months until we realize where it's heading."
INSIDER has contacted Paul and Mongeau for some clarity on their relationship.
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