Alix Earle Breaks Down Her Path to Social Media Stardom During Her Debut Stern Show Appearance
The influencer and soon-to-be college graduate dishes on her TikTok and Instagram success, dating, and what’s next
May 2, 2023
TikTok and Instagram sensation Alix Earle might post plenty of content featuring her in bikinis and enjoying various music festivals to her more than seven million combined followers, but the 22-year-old has an alternate theory on her massive success.
“I started posting about my acne,” the University of Miami senior told Howard during her Stern Show debut Tuesday morning.
That wasn’t her original strategy, though. “When I started out, I had no idea, and I was trying to be picture perfect and I thought that was the way to go … [but] nothing’s ever really worked for me,” she admitted of creating a TikTok account her freshman year of college.
She decided she’d show the world a more vulnerable side of herself. And it worked. “I posted about [my acne] and then the followers started to come in … which is crazy, because I was trying for the opposite for three years and then the second I stopped trying to be the hot, pretty, picture perfect girl, is when things started to take off,” she noted.
HONEST ABOUT BREAST IMPLANTS
The honest approach Alix took with her acne extended to her decision to not only get breast implants, but to document it. “It’s just a personal choice, and I think if there’s something you want to do for yourself then do it,” she said of getting elective surgery before explaining why she let her followers in on it. “I would never go on the internet and lie or not say something … like, ‘Oh yeah, they just grew overnight?’ No, so got to keep it real.”
And while she did throw a “booby party” to celebrate her first year with them, the surgery itself was anything but. “It’s not fun, like they don’t warn you for that,” Alix cautioned, recalling seeing the display of medical-grade knives just before the operation. “You are sitting there in this cold, refrigerated room, you feel like a piece of meat in there … I’m like, ‘Wait, knock me out. I can’t sit here seeing this.’”
On Dating in Front of Millions of People
The lens on Alix’s personal life has extended into dating, but the influencer acknowledged that breaking up with someone in public is less than ideal. “It can get a little crazy out there and everyone has their opinions,” she told Howard. “Not only are you going through a breakup, but then it’s like I’m scrolling through and I’m seeing everyone else posting about my breakup and I’m like, ‘Well shit, this is making it worse.’”
For the moment, she’s keeping things light. “I’m just dating around right now and having fun,” the star said matter-of-factly. “I don’t want anything serious right now.”
Though Alix won’t name names, she did reveal there have been celebrities sliding into her DMs – some are around her age and some as old as 40-something. Shooting down the possibility of dating someone much older, the influencer gave a small hint of what she’s drawn to. “I’m a personality person,” she told Howard.
She Sees What You’re Saying
Seeing people discuss her love life might not be ideal, but Alix does appreciate feedback — and sees it. “I read comments, and I learn,” she told Howard. “I love my audience. I love connecting with them, so I want to know what they’re saying.”
Negative comments are a different story, but when that happens the TikToker takes a “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” approach. “The shitty things [don’t] really bother me,” Alix insisted. “No one’s perfect. People are going to say things, people are entitled to their own opinions, especially when you’re putting yourself out there.”
What’s Next?
With graduation right around the corner, Alix told Howard she recently had an “identity crisis,” considering her entire social media presence has been focused on her life as a student. “’No more college? What am I going to do?’” she remembered thinking. “Something that so many people deal with after graduation is the unknown, the new world … you’re becoming an adult and you don’t really know what’s going on, and I have a lot of my friends that are working in corporate America and they’re in it with me.”
With plans to stay in Miami, one thing Alix does know is that she’ll continue to let people into her world. “I’m always going to be going out and doing something and traveling and I’m going to keep sharing my stories because I like doing it,” she said, adding, “It doesn’t feel like work to me.”
