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A mixed-race couple insist they will accept the backlash from social media trolls who are shocked to see them together.
Opinions about Lexie Wilson and Jakobe Smith are divided because they have noticeably different body sizes.
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Lexie, 20, and Jakobe, 21, from Alabama, have more than 176,000 followers on TikTokin which they provide an insight into their five-year relationship.
Speaking to The US Sun, they opened up about the challenges of sharing their romance online.
CRUSH FROM AWAY
Lexie and Jakobe met at school, where he was a grade above her, but their friendship started thanks to Snapchat.
“When I was in my freshman year of college, I posted on Snapchat that I wanted a best friend,” Lexie said.
“He slid over and said, ‘I’ll be your best friend.’
“We immediately became best friends after that. We texted each other every day and called each other every day after school.”
Seven months later, their friendship grew into something more.
Jakobe shared that during a Bible study, the pastor began explaining the characteristics of being in love.
“Lexi called me one Sunday and we were talking about church, but then she stopped for a moment,” he said.
“She said something like, ‘Jakobe, wait, I think I have a crush on you.’ I thought she was joking, but she was serious.”
MOM ALWAYS KNOWS
Lexie’s mother predicted all along that it would be more than just friendship.
“When we were best friends, my mom always said, ‘Give Jakobe a chance, there’s nothing wrong with him and he’s really nice to you and stuff,’” she said.
“She always thought we would get together.
“The day I realized I was in love with him, after I told him, I went and told my mom.
“I thought, ‘Mom, I think I’m in love with Jakobe,’ and she said, ‘Well, you could have said that.’”
TRUST IS THE KEY
Lexie admits that she didn’t have a specific type before her relationship with Jakobe, but she also didn’t see herself with a bigger man – until she stopped seeing his size altogether.
“We were friends for so long and you get used to looking at someone,” she said.
“I think that it [Jakobe’s size] just didn’t stand out anymore.
In the south there are already a lot of heavier people.
Lexie Wilson
“He’s never had any problems with his self-confidence. Jakobe thinks he looks good straight out of bed.
“I’ve always been confident too. Ever since I was little, I’ve never had any problems with that.”
NOT SO UNIQUE
Friends and family of the couple have never commented on their size. In fact, in the region where they live, it is not that different.
“Are [mixed-weight couples] “That’s very common here,” Lexie said, referring to Alabama.
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“You have couples of all sizes, fat people together, thin people together.
“And here in the south there are already a lot of heavier people.”
TIKTOK GETS THE HATERS
However, when they shared photos of themselves on TikTok with a trending audio, they received a flood of negative responses.
While many couples are grateful for them normalizing mixed-race relationships, there are also trolls.
Instead of getting angry, they feel inspired.
He is just on the big side, but he has a very handsome face. He is very respectful and sweet to me… I think Jakobe looks beautiful, no one can tell me he is ugly.
Lexie
“Jakobe loves to stir things up for everyone,” Lexie said.
“The more you let them talk in the comments, the more it boosts your videos and that’s going to make us more money at the end of the month.”
ONLY THOSE SAD SKINNY BOYS
She said it is out of boredom that trolls try to offload “their own insecurities” onto other people.
It is mainly ‘skinny boys’ who post hate comments under their TikTok videos.
“They look at Jakobe and see him in a healthy relationship and think, ‘He’s bigger than me,’ but they think they look better than Jakobe,” she said.
“They say, ‘Why can’t I do what he does?’
“And I seem to look better than him, just because he’s tall or something.”
LOOK OF LOVE
Lexie disagrees.
“I think Jakobe looks beautiful, no one can tell me he is ugly,” she continued.
“He’s just on the big side, but he has a very handsome face. He’s very respectful and sweet to me.
“He’s never called me by my name and a lot of people can’t say that because they have boyfriends and stuff, so you can’t talk to them in any way.
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“He is very respectful to my parents, very intelligent. Jakobe has opened my mind to many things since we have been together.
“I appreciate his confidence and he is very athletic, he loves sports.”
KING OF THE TROLLS
Jakobe said he tries to respond to all comments, but that he has to take TikTok’s guidelines into account.
If they say something wrong, the social media app will suspend their account or delete their comments.
He responds sarcastically when men ask him for dating advice during live streams.
“Someone asked us on a live broadcast the other day, ‘Hey Kobe, do you have any relationship advice for me?’” he said.
“And he was a bigger guy.
We’ve been talking about getting married since we were 18, but her parents turned it down… We’re actually getting married before January.
Jacob Smith
“I said, ‘Lose weight, get skinny, go to the gym. That’s what you need to do.’
“I will keep trolling them all the time.”
The couple say they get more hate on TikTok than on any other social media platform.
“Facebook is really just jokes and nothing too crazy,” said Jakobe.
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“The kids on TikTok are recycling stuff to create a viral moment.
“They go from one video to another to see which comment is liked the most.
“They copy and paste that word for word, just to get the most valued comment.
“I can say what I want to say on Facebook so people don’t just say something crazy.
“Most other platforms, YouTube and Instagram, say in the comments that they are proud of us, that they should continue and that they like our relationship.”
A WEDDING AND 12 CHILDREN
Lexie said you need “strong skin” to share your relationship online because people are going to talk to you regardless of what you post.
She and Jakobe both still live at home with their parents, but regularly have dates where they watch a movie or bake.
“We’ve been talking about getting married since we were 18, but her parents turned it down,” Jakobe said.
“Now we are waiting for everything to fall into place, but getting married is on the agenda.
“We will definitely get married before January.
“I would like to have 12 children, but I don’t want to be raising 12 children after I’m 40.”
Lexie joked that she doesn’t want more than three children and that they don’t want to start a family until they are financially stable.
Jakobe enthusiastically told me that he thinks Lexie is great and that they can support each other in everything.
“My weaknesses are her strengths and her weaknesses are my strengths,” he said.
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