The Pink Shirt Couple: Behind the Breakup
YouTube fans of the Pink Shirt Couple — who are famous for wearing matching shirts — were handed some troubling news recently — the pink-loving couple have parted ways.
In an interview Monday, Alyssa Eckstein sketched out what the future might look like for the former couple. She plans to transition the Pink Shirt Couple channels to her own identity, while former boyfriend Cayden Christianson has started “Pink Shirt Single” channels.
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The now-divided duo may still do some collaborations together, but nothing is in the works at the moment, Eckstein said. “It will be a gradual process as I want to make sure it is done correctly while still understanding that fans and followers will need time to adjust to the changes,” she said.
The “Pink Shirt Couple” YouTube channel has nearly 20 million subscribers, and centers around inspiring people to be themselves. For Gen Z Eckstein, that means being a good role model for the upcoming generation.
The switch to singlehood will be explored with a new series on all social platforms, and look for more posts from Eckstein via “pinkshirtgirl” on Snapchat. Followers can find a pink baseball hat, a temporary tattoo and other emblems of the devotedness on the pinkshirtcouple e-commerce site. T-shirts and polo shirts will be added to the mix in the next month or two, as well as her own site.
Despite her diehard fondness for bubble gum pink, the Minnesota-born Eckstein doesn’t follow fashion closely, and she only has a few pieces besides her go-to look, a pink shirt and khaki skirt. Even though she sewed her own senior prom dress, the only fashion brand that she is working on is her own. “There may be a series coming soon where I try to improve — ha ha!” she said.
Swift at numbers, Eckstein has a mathematics degree and competed in Minnesota’s high school state mathematics championships.
She and Christianson spent two months processing the breakup before sharing the news online recently. “It is definitely difficult seeing how sad the viewers are and all of the edits people make of them being heartbroken. But we have received so much support and respect on our decision which has made everything so much easier,” she said. “The key to announcing these big life changes online is to make sure that everything is handled in a mature, respectful way to all parties. Breakups don’t have to be a huge dramatic disaster.”
The two YouTubers hope “to show that it is OK to make some changes in your life, if you feel like that is what is best for you,” Eckstein said. “My greatest fear is to not give things my best shot.“
When deciding on their signature Barbie-worthy shade, they toyed with the idea of yellow, the other color that was flattering on Christianson. But the final choice boiled down to branding — “Pink Shirt Guy” sounds simpler than “Yellow Shirt Guy,” and the breakup won’t shift Eckstein’s preferred color, she said — “I still love wearing pink and don’t plan on changing the color.”
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