Gamers MrBeast and Thea Booysen Are Engaged After First Meeting in 2022

In addition to being one of the biggest names on the internet, MrBeast, who was born Jimmy Donaldson, is now engaged. MrBeast got engaged on Christmas Eve 2024 to fellow gamer and YouTuber Thea Booysen.

Following the news that the two of them are engaged, many wanted to learn more about the nature of their relationship and how long they've known each other. We've got the complete breakdown of their relationship history from when they first met all the way today.

MrBeast and Thea and been friendly with one another as part of the same community of YouTubers, but they had never met in person. MrBeast lives in North Carolina while Thea is a native of South Africa. During a trip to Thea's home country, MrBeast went to dinner with a mutual friend and invited Thea to tag along. As Thea explained during an interview on the Wide Awake Podcast, he made a good first impression.

“I really wanted to meet him in person,” she said. “He was super nice, very down to earth and he started asking me a lot of questions. Little did I know he was going off a list because he was looking for a new girlfriend."

The two stayed in touch following that initial meeting and quickly started dating, making their first public appearance together in April of that year at the Kids' Choice Awards.

Elsewhere on the Wide Awake Podcast, Thea explained that her meeting with MrBeast almost didn't happen.

“Everybody got COVID so they had to cancel the video and stay in South Africa a little bit longer," she explained, saying that it was only because of COVID that she got the opportunity to meet him. Once the two did meet, though, MrBeast immediately began discussing everything from neuroscience to her book with her.

“The fact that he could keep up with the conversation to me was very attractive because you have to have a certain amount of interest and intellect,” she said.

After their initial meeting, MrBeast and Thea were dating long distance for a time, and he even flew back to South Africa for a single day just to see her again.

“He was adamant he wanted to come visit again and I was keen — I wanted to get to know him better,” she explained. By 2024, the two had moved in together, but Thea is still on a tourist visa, which means that she lives half the year in the United States and half in South Africa.

That living arrangement may be unusual, but it seems like the two are ready to commit.

"For the very last present he asked me to close my eyes because it was a surprise," Thea explained of their proposal.

MrBeast added: "I intentionally dropped a large box to make noise before presenting the real gift — with the ring inside — to her. And then I went down on a knee and proposed."