Hays often included her wife in videos she posted for her 3 million TikTok followers: “We have felt the love you guys have had for us for years,” the couple wrote, “and have embraced it with gratitude.”
Comedian Danae Hays and her wife Mandie explain how they got together
The two first started talking to each other on Instagram in 2016
After four years of marriage and hundreds of TikTok videos together, Nashville comedian Danae Hays and her wife, online fashion influencer Mandie Kaii, announced their separation online on Friday, August 30.
“We are both deeply saddened to announce that we have decided to go our separate ways,” the pair wrote in a short statement posted on Hays and Kaii’s TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Hays, 31, rose to fame with funny videos, often poking fun at her childhood in southern Alabama, and built an audience of more than 3 million TikTok followers. Earlier this year, she began touring comedy clubs and theaters in the South and Midwest.
Their videos often featured their wife, and they usually made fun of themselves and each other, portraying Hays as the more hillbilly and Kaii as the girly Californian in caricatures.
“This decision was not easy for us as we both have so much love and respect for each other,” they said in their joint statement. “But it is truly the best thing for both of us.”
Hays did not immediately respond to a text message from The Tennessean seeking comment. Hays and Kaii, both standout college softball players, first met through private messages on Instagram in 2016.
In social media comments, most fans said they were shocked that the two were splitting up, with many posting messages saying they had been waiting for Hays to reveal that the news was a hoax.
“Been reading the whole time waiting for the ‘got you’ line,” posted a follower who identifies herself as DiannelisM on TikTok.
“The way I screamed ‘WHATSSSS’ into my phone,” posted TikTok user mamadaughtertok.
Hayes is scheduled to perform at TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater on October 17.
Reach Brad Schmitt at [email protected] or 615-259-8384.
