A TikTok love triangle has fans captivated

A burgeoning love triangle on TikTok has fans captivated and rooting for their favorite influencers — a culmination of months of flirting, drama and some thorough detective work from three of the platform’s popular creators.

But is it real love or just for show?

Only the three TikTok stars involved in the affair know the answer, but the drama is generating millions of views and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It started in December, when influencer and digital host Ayamé Ponder posted a TikTok video asking her millions of followers to guess where she was. She used the question as a hook for her video and quickly moved on to reviewing her room service meal.

A month later, Yuval Ben-Hayun, who is well-known on TikTok for correctly guessing the information that creators are trying to hide, responded in a post, accurately identifying the hotel where Ponder made the video. Ben-Hayun used details in the video like the headboard of a bed and the pattern on a plate. Ponder’s horrified reaction video received 3.3 million likes.

In an interview with NBC News, Ponder shared that she originally saw Ben-Hayun’s video when her now ex-boyfriend sent it to her, concerned that she had a stalker.

Ayamé Ponder has gained a large following on TikTok.Courtesy Ayamé

“My first initial reaction was a mix of fear and confusion,” Ponder said. However, she had seen another lengthy video that Ben-Hayun had posted debunking a man’s height, which made her feel better, as she wasn’t the only one he was doing this to.In March, Ponder seemed to challenge Ben-Hayun directly. “Disclaimer: By the time this is posted, I have left the hotel,” Ponder said in a new video. “So try and find me.” Ben-Hayun did, and his resulting video received 2.8 million likes.

A few weeks later, after another video, followers thought they were picking up on flirty vibes between the two creators. “Yuval, She doesn’t want you to find her, She wants you to go and ‘find’ her!!! Even I realize that!” one user wrote under Ben-Hayun’s post. The comment received 44,200 likes.

Ponder seemed to agree. “I decided to flirt with him,” she recalled. “I consider myself quite a confident babe. So if you’re trying to find me, you’re obviously in love.”

The open flirtations between Ponder and Ben-Hayun, who respectively have 3.8 million and 2.9 million followers, took a turn when Ponder met a third influencer, Oliver Mills, on set for an ad they were both shooting for Audible. Ponder posted a video of Mills on May 2, announcing that a “hard launch [was] coming soon” — presumably with Audible.

Yuval Ben-Hayun.Courtesy Yuval Ben-Hayun

Some fans, however, were devastated. “Where’s yuval,” one commenter asked with a crying emoji to hundreds of likes.

Even though Ponder recalled Mills being initially confused, he has since played into the love triangle narrative by making his own video declaring his love for Ponder. Hundreds of fans commented, including the official NYX Cosmetics UK account, trying to get in on the attention the drama was attracting. Ben-Hayun issued his own response — sending Mills roses. By the time Ponder posted the Audible ad on TikTok, where her character called Mills “loverboy,” fans saw it as an extension of the love triangle content that they wanted.

“And I watched the commercial willingly,” one user commented. Other followers begged Audible to work with Ben-Hayun too.

The development of the saga is an illustration of the unique power of parasocial relationships in the age of social media. Even though fans of Ponder knew the narrative was developing through an Audible ad, they were begging for more.

One fan, who says that she is a social media agency owner in her TikTok bio, raised the question of whether this love triangle has been an Audible campaign this whole time. She guessed no because some videos are explicitly tagged as ads while others aren’t, but said she still loved the overall brand marketing strategy.

Brooke Erin Duffy, a professor at Cornell University who studies the social media industry, noted that guessing whether this is real or a stunt may be part of the appeal to fans, as well as the long-running trope of love triangles. She pointed to reality-TV dating shows as an example.

“Another thing that is striking is the parasocial dynamic,” Duffy said, “really playing into what social media culture does, which is encourage people to think of creators as relatable. This could be your best pal who is trying to solicit relationship advice.”

Duffy noted that it’s difficult to know for sure whether this is a stunt. For her part, Ponder has insisted that the love story has played out naturally.

“All of it has been very much destiny,” she said.

Ponder, Ben-Hayun and Mills have cultivated fan bases beyond the drama surrounding their love triangle. Ponder has gone viral multiple times for her reaction videos. Ben-Hayun rose to fame on TikTok through his WordleBot. According to USA Today, Taylor Swift once told Mills: “I love your videos. You are so funny.”

Still, they have all seen their follower counts increase substantially since posting videos alluding to a love triangle. According to Social Blade, Ponder has gained 200,000 followers in the last 30 days, while Ben-Hayun and Mills have gained 200,000 and 100,000, respectively.

In addition, Ben-Hayun told followers that he would only buy an international plane ticket to see Ponder if they helped meet a GoFundMe goal of 200,000 Canadian dollars to help get his friend’s family members out of Gaza. They did, and Ben-Hayun and Ponder have continued fundraising.

In a statement from Ben-Hayun provided by Ponder’s agent, he called the relationship “100% organic” and said, “I’m really proud of us for taking advantage of the momentum we’ve had to do some actual good.”

Yeast Bakery, where Ponder and Mills shot their ad, temporarily released a drink called the Yuvamé to show its support for Ben-Hayun after he reached out. The bakery also made a sign saying that Mills is now banned from its premises.

Ponder noted that while she and Mills have connected in person, she has yet to meet Ben-Hayun. In a note that Ben-Hayun sent, he promised to visit by June 21.

“When I do see him, I will fall in love even more so,” Ponder said. “Quite scared about that.”

Victoria Feng

Victoria Feng is an intern on the NBC News technology desk.