TikTok star Chris Stanley knows why people think his BF is his dad

Chris Stanley has become one of the top gay influencers on social media, with millions of views across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. His twink-on-the-street interviews have started to dominate the internet.

But what do you know about the man behind the microphone? LGBTQ Nation flipped the script and asked him the questions instead. His answers might surprise you.

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Older gay couple goes viral for recreating their old photos

They’ve been together for 42 years.

While the 23-year-old content creator is outgoing and bubbly on phone screens, he’s much more reserved and shy in real life. While playful on camera, Stanley is serious about body image, ageism, and acceptance among the queer community.

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That’s why he regularly talks about his boyfriend, Brett, a 49-year-old bear, and includes people who don’t conform to the standard twink and jock stereotypes in his videos.

While his videos can rack up tens of millions of views, his favorites generally celebrate bears and daddies.

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“I don’t really know what it was” that influenced his tastes and, therefore, priorities for his videos, he says. “It’s kind of just been something I’ve realized about myself. After I came out, I slowly just kind of realized, you know, I really liked dad bods and beards and stuff. So, obviously, I guess I just started gravitating towards older guys. And also, bears; it just kind of made sense.”

But does he find the same acceptance during his interviews generally? Sometimes.

Some people “just want to run with their own. You know, gays, like them, whatever that may be,” he says. “But I think a lot of people are really getting a lot more accepting of body types, masculine and feminine, and many with older. Well, not everyone is on board with, you know, age differences, I guess. But I think people are getting a lot more accepting.”

“People are constantly just saying that they love my videos just because I like bears in general. And actually, there was a point when I was first making them where people didn’t actually believe that I even liked bear-y guys, chubbier guys,” he continued. “So it’s definitely been nice to actually be able to be a little more public with Brett. So they can see that I’m not just doing anything for just the likes

“But people are always saying my videos have kind of made them happier, more confident, made them accept themselves a little more. Because there is definitely in the gay community a lot of pressure to kind of be, you know, skinnier or have abs, and everything. So people have told me that they liked my videos for being able to feel more confident with their body type.”

Brett, a former reality show contestant who came out on television, and Stanley, a fan of the genre, met online. True to his game, they started chatting over Instagram.

“I was just watching Survivor and I thought he was handsome. I didn’t really think he was gay. So I was kind of just watching and rooting for him,” Stanley says. “And then he ended up coming out and instantly I was like, ‘Oh, my God, no way.’ Like he was gay this whole time. The guy that I was rooting for who I thought was handsome.”

“I was probably going to end up messaging him anyway, saying, I liked him on the show. But after I saw that he was gay, I was instantly like, ‘Oh my god, I have to say something.’ So I sent him a message. And then he ended up answering, and then I asked him on a date, and that’s how we met. And then the rest is history.”

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With such a significant age gap between the two, have they had any issues? Have there been moments of discomfort?

“Maybe it has made us a little uncomfortable before, but only in the sense that we wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to kiss somewhere in public. So I guess in that sense, if we’re in, you know, just a straight area. It would not feel comfortable enough to kiss maybe. But when we’re in like a gay place, we definitely don’t really feel that and we’ll just kiss.”

“Tons of people online just think he’s my dad or something. But then there have even been people like in person, when we were just talking to strangers we don’t know. I feel like it’s the logical thing to assume if you’re meeting us, I guess. So I just think it’s funny. It doesn’t really bother me. I don’t usually correct them.”

“No one that we really know for a long period of time has been negative,” he continued. “But there was one time where we met these guys outside of a drag show, actually. They found out we were together and, I don’t know if they were just kind of drunk or like had a bad day, but they started attacking us a little and saying to me, like, ‘Oh, I hope he has money. Why would you be with him?’ and all these really nasty things.”

“I didn’t know what to say. I was kinda like, a little shocked. Because, you know, I mean, it’s definitely stranger when someone’s actually going to say that stuff to you in person to your face. What the heck? I didn’t really expect it. But that was really the only one time that that’s happened to us. It was just a weird encounter. And then I kind of wish I just put them in their place and, you know, denied everything they said and was like ‘Who are you?’ I don’t know. I didn’t know really what to say.”

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But for one single negative encounter, the love from fans and followers has sustained his belief in the inherent goodness of the queer community and their evolving sense of self-worth and acceptance of different body types, ages, and masculinity.

“I met this older guy once and he said, ‘Hey, I love your videos. I love your relationship. You and Brett together give me hope that I can find someone.’ We give him hope that he’ll find someone. It made me happy because if I can give other people hope, make them happy, it’s worth it.”