The Breakup

YouTuber, Jake Paul, and his girlfriend Tana Mongeau broke up in January of 2020. Tana and Jake began dating in April and were quickly engaged in June. There was a lot of internet chat about if they were really together or just using their relationship to gain popularity, which I will go more into later. One month later they got married and many were surprised by this. It was later discovered that they did not officially obtain a marriage license and the wedding officiator was not licensed to do so. They continued to act as if they were married until six months later when they called off the marriage through their own social media accounts.

Tana

Tana has her own TV show MTV: No Filter, she spoke briefly to her manager about the break up (season 2 episode 3 Link) She said that her relationship with Jake is part of her work and the blurred line between work and relationship was taking a toll on her. She is also seen to be smoking weed and numbing the pain throughout this episode. This smoking is not only portrayed as affecting her mental health but also her physical health. Do you appreciate it when celebrities are honest and open about their struggles or do you think they are another ploy for clout?

In her own personal YouTube video titled “the truth about everything Link”. Tana talks about her mental health and claims that she “put so much into Jake that [she] lost [herself]”. She was only trying to show him that he is worth it and that someone loves him. She took accountability for her actions by saying if she “made [her] bed [she] will lay in it”. She does not regret anything and the things that she had done she is only grateful for, both in her career and her experiences. But mentally she feels lower than she has ever felt. In this video, she publicly talks about what she struggles with most in relation to her childhood trauma and drug use. Her goal at the end of the hard year that she endured is to create art and help others in similar situations.

Jake

In response to her video, Jake claims that he fell out of love for her and “in love with boxing”. He does say that Tana was extremely supportive of him and their relationship ended on good terms and that they will always still be friends. How would you react if you were in his shoes?

Why Break-up?

We see a trend in both celebrity relationships and break ups in order to gain clout and attention. A few well-known examples of this is from the early 2000’s are Justin Bieber/Selena Gomez and Joe Jonas/Taylor Swift. In relation to Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, these two were in and out of their relationship constantly. Their relationship developed at the beginning of both of their careers, which gave them both attention from the fans of the other side. For example, Biebers fans became interested in Gomez strictly because she was seeing Bieber. There is nothing more interesting in Hollywood that a breakup. Taylor Swift is known for becoming part of a relationship in order to gain inspiration for another song. Do you think that Tana and Jake used others as an example for their relationship (start and breakup) to advance their career or do you think the relationship was all pure and genuine?

Looking at their past relationships there are some trends. Jake Paul has had many relationships with woman that have ended similarly. For example, his relationship with Alissa Violet was ended in a he-said-she-said argument where no one really knew the real reason. Their relationship, like Tana and Jakes, was exploited on social media.

I feel as if their relationship was created for business advancement and clout. The more drama that a celebrity goes through, the more attention, the more following. Throughout the relationship, Tana fell in love and Jake did not which led to their relationship falling out. Their differing feelings affected them differently and how they handled the breakup. When two people are trying to advance in their careers and are young, it becomes difficult to remain invested in genuine relationships. Do you think there were advised or told how to react to their relationship or do you think their reactions were genuine?

Tana’s fans are supporting her and talking about the issue on social media, thankful that she is away from him now. Do you think that they are better together or better broken up? What do you think was the true motive for both their relationship and the breakup?

The breakup was said to be motivated by their desire to “focus on their careers”. Do people treat them differently or have more respect for one over the other? Did they lose a following? Or gain more support?

Throughout Hollywood and the celebrity world there are many ploys to gain a following from the public. We can make conclusions and assumptions but we will never truly know the motive and intention behind Tana and Jake’s relationship.