Jamie Perkins and Nikki Thot’s story began in 2009, when 19-year-old South Sudanese-Australian model Nikki met 25-year-old cinematographer Jamie on MySpace. Their instant connection led to a whirlwind romance, marriage in 2010, and two daughters—Ava (b. 2016) and Zoe (b. 2018). A viral engagement video at Melbourne’s Federation Square and a wedding clip that racked up eight million likes turned them into social-media stars. What started as a private way to capture family memories soon became a YouTube channel followed by millions.

Nikki’s own childhood in Khartoum and suburban Melbourne had been defined by privacy and her family’s insistence on hard work—her father famously passed the veterinary exam on the tenth try. Suddenly thrust into the limelight, Nikki’s parents struggled with the attention, and both she and Jamie faced trolls targeting their biracial daughters and interracial relationship. While their family vlogs celebrated diversity, negativity lurked in comment sections and on Nikki’s beauty channel, making it ever harder to shield their children.

Behind the camera, cracks were forming. Though Jamie and Nikki quietly separated in 2019, the split only became public in 2023. Jamie has since spoken of abuse, violence, infidelity, and his own battles with PTSD, depression, and anxiety, accusing Nikki of betraying their marriage early on. Nikki denied these claims in an Instagram Story, lamenting that she’d tried to keep the matter private for their daughters’ sake but felt forced to defend herself.

Today, Jamie and Nikki each pursue their own paths online—he as a car-obsessed adventurer and single dad, she as a beauty creator—and they share custody of Ava and Zoe, now eight and six. Though their fairy-tale partnership ended in heartbreak, both remain unwavering in their devotion to their girls and are forging new beginnings, hoping to model resilience and love as they build the next chapter of their lives.