Mark E Miller’s YouTube channel has over 680,000 subscribers. He and boyfriend Ethan Hethcote had been together over five years
Gay Youtubers Mark E. Miller and Ethan Hethcote have announced that they have split up. The California-based men began dating in May 2013.
Miller has almost half a million Instagram followers. His YouTube channel has over 680,000 subscribers. It has often featured videos of him and Hethcote on their travels and adventures.
Yesterday, they posted a five-minute video in which they explained their split. They began by revealing they’d moved into separate apartments.
‘We’ve had a very fast, very fun, very exciting five years,’ begins Hethcote. ‘We started a company together, we made videos together, so it was like our professional live and persona lives got really intertwined.
‘I don’t mean to say that in a bad way because it’s an awesome thing. I am so grateful for the experiences that we’ve had.
‘We just need to reevaluate how we’re doing individually because everything was so habitually together. The moral of this story is the RuPaul saying: “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else.’
‘Whatever you need, I want you to feel you have space’
Miller nods and agrees. He adds, ‘There are days that I don’t appreciate him [pointing to Hethcote], and I don’t want that to be a thing. I just don’t want that to happen.’
The men revealed they have moved a five-minute walk from one another.
‘So it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again,’ laughs Hethcote.
‘I’ve seen really beautiful relationship go into really bad places, because, just realities of life aren’t dealt with,’ he adds. ‘And that’s not what I want to happen here. And that’s why this is happening.
‘No matter what I just fucking love you,’ he says, putting his arm around Miller, who is visibly moved.
‘And if that means you need to figure stuff out, and I need to figure stuff out, I want that to happen. Whatever you need, I want you to feel you have space to think about it and go after it and feel uninhibited towards it and to feel proud of it.
‘And I also want to do the same. Make you proud, too, as just another person in my life who I love and loves me.’
‘We just wanted to talk about it,’ says Miller to the camera. ‘It’s not a big deal and we’re not trying to be dramatic about it. This is like such a positive move for both of us and there’s no black and white. It’s not like we’re together, we’re not together, we’re just people, we’re really good friends, we’re best friends.
‘I just want both of us to just listen to ourselves and respect each other to allow us to make big decisions in life.’
Miller ends the video saying that he’s seen many break-up videos on YouTube and had previously vowed never to make one: ‘And here we are!’ He later posted a comment stating they had filmed a 40-minute video but edited it down to five minutes.
Fan reaction
Many of their fans were devastated by the news.
One, YouTube user @TheMichael2512 said, ‘When I was in the closet I couldn’t see a gay relationship as something real. I thought heterosexual relationships were better.
‘But you guys showed me how beautiful gay love can be, you guys made it seem so normal to the point that I no longer saw it as gay love but just love. Through this channel I found a way to accept who I was, and I thank you both for that. Although you guys broke up, you’re relationship’s effect on me and all of your fans will continue to live on.’
