MrBeast is getting married!
The 26-year-old YouTuber, born Jimmy Donaldson, proposed to his 27-year-old girlfriend, Thea Booysen, on Christmas.
“My family flew out from South Africa for Christmas, and we were celebrating at our house with both families here,” Booysen told PEOPLE. “We were opening presents, and for the very last one, he asked me to close my eyes because it was a surprise.” When Booysen opened her eyes, she “of course said yes” and was “extremely excited.”
Find out more about Booysen below.
Booysen Is A Content Creator
Booysen is a professional content creator, esports commentator, and online gamer, known by her gaming handle, TheaBeasty. Her channel has nearly 40,000 subscribers.
She began her gaming career in 2016, streaming card-based video games on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.
Booysen Is From South Africa
Booysen was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa.
In addition to her content creation career, she is also a co-owner of the South African esports organization, Nixuh.
Booysen Has Multiple Degrees
In 2022, Booysen graduated from Stellenbosch University with a bachelor’s degree in law and an honors degree in psychology. Then, in November 2024, she earned a master’s degree in neuropsychology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
In addition to her impressive academic achievements, Booysen also made her debut as an author in 2022 with the release of her young adult novel, The Marked Children, a project she began working on while still in high school.
“When we were first introduced, it came through right away how brilliant Thea is,” MrBeast told PEOPLE. “She has such a range of knowledge and can go deep on lots of topics. She told me about her work as an author and how passionate she is about her hobbies — we vibed instantly. I kept thinking she is really smart and beautiful. I knew within the first few minutes of meeting that I wanted the chance to date her. Thankfully, she also felt a strong connection.”
Booysen and MrBeast Met in 2022
MrBeast met Booysen in 2022 during a trip to her home country. While there, he had dinner with a mutual friend who invited Booysen to join them. The two stayed in touch and quickly started dating.
“When I met him, I was quite surprised how down-to-earth he was, and also how intelligent he was,” Booysen told PEOPLE. “I thought YouTubers were just sort of a persona, but when I met him, I was quite surprised to see that he’s actually a nice guy. He wasn’t sitting there with an ego.”
By April 2022, they made their first public appearance together at the Kids’ Choice Awards. Booysen later shared a photo of them on the orange carpet on Instagram, calling it an “amazing night.”
Booysen Defended MrBeast
When clips of MrBeast using insensitive language resurfaced alongside an ongoing lawsuit alleging “unsafe” working conditions on his Prime Video game show Beast Games, Booysen stood by his side.
In August 2024, Booysen responded to a comment on a now-deleted YouTube video to defend her boyfriend. When a fan urged her to break up with “the Beast,” she shared her thoughts.
“I appreciate the message. There is so much that is not being said, I wish I could talk more about the situation,” Booysen wrote. “Half the things that are said are not true. I wouldn’t be with him if they were. It is so important to me to be a good person.”