An Arizona couple whose pink outfits and social videos amassed a following of 20 million people have announced the end of their relationship.
Known as the Pink Shirt Couple, Cayden Christianson and Alyssa Eckstein shared their breakup in a YouTube video on Saturday called, "We Broke Up."
The two sat on a bed facing the camera, still wearing their signature pink, to make the announcement, which had about 1.5 million views by Tuesday evening.
"Hi, I really don't know how to start this," Eckstein, 22, says at the beginning of the video. "I don't, either," adds Christianson, who is 23.
"We did break up, as a couple," Christianson explains. "We're still really close as friends and care very deeply about each other."
Christianson acknowledged that the couple's fans have noticed his absence recently and expressed concerns about where he's been. They explained that they just needed some time to process the break-up before it was announced.
Christianson said that "the most important thing is working on yourself, and when the other significant other doesn't provide that or help better themselves or the other person, I think they might need time for themselves or apart."
"I think that's what is best for us," he said. "Doesn't mean change is bad. Change is good. You have to learn to grow."
The couple then hug and appear emotional before Eckstein says: "I still love and care about you so much and I just want the best for you, and I also want the best for me."
Eckstein then shared that she moved out of her home with Christianson, which the couple has listed on Facebook as being the unincorporated Phoenix suburb of Waddell.
The couple also shared that Christianson was recently involved in a car accident but that it was unrelated to the break-up. His car was totaled and he had a bruise under his eye, Eckstein said.
Eckstein and Christianson were content creators before meeting in college on the swim team at South Dakota State University in February 2021, according to a blog post posted by YouTube. Their swim pages list Eckstein's hometown as Big Lake, Minnesota, and Christianson's as Montrose, Colorado.
After falling for each other, the pair began posting content together. Starting with TikTok, the couple gained a following doing Rubik’s Cube wars. By the summer of 2021, they had reached a point where they felt they could creatively and financially pursue their dream of being content creators full-time, according to the blog post.
Together The Pink Shirt Couple made a name for themselves on several different platforms. From posting long and short videos, analyzing analytics, to editing their content, the couple learned to work together and create content that has drawn about 20 million followers to their YouTube channel.
In March 2022, the blog post said the couple moved to Arizona.
Since January 2023, The Pink Shirt Couple grew from one million subscribers to 12 million.
The couple's fans expressed their support on the break-up video, which had more than 20,000 comments by Tuesday evening.
"I was devastated to hear about the break-up, but I hope that you both find happiness and fulfillment in your lives moving forward," one follower wrote.
Another said that "the important thing is that they both had the courage to do what they felt was best for them."
And another praised the couple's demeanor during the video, saying: "The fact that they are not sad, not blaming each other and not speaking rudely is very good and a bit comforting."
