TIKTOK star Danae Hays and wife Mandie Kaii have separated after three years of marriage.
The former couple confirmed their split in a joint Instagram statement, writing, “We are both deeply saddened to share that we have decided to go our separate ways.”
They added, “This decision did not come easy as we both have so much love and respect for one another…but it is truly what is best for both of us.”
Danae and Mandie, who tied the knot on April 3, 2021, acknowledged that “so much of our relationship was in the public eye.”
The Nashville-based comedian later admitted “I’m so ready to come out on the other side of this” in a TikTok message to her followers.
“From this pain, from this heartache. From this feeling of hopelessness,” Danae continued.
‘HEALING JOURNEY’
“There’s times where you just see somebody else go through something and you’re like, ‘Thank god I’m not having to go through that.’ or ‘I’ll never have to go through that.’
“And then you do and it just takes you on a damn roller coaster,” she said.
While thanking her fans for their love and support, Danae shared that going back to work by “making other people laugh” was going to be a “part of my healing journey.”
“A chapter is closing, but I’m ready to start that healing process and get out the other side,” she concluded.
Danae first met influencer Mandie on Instagram in 2016, People reported.
They decided to meet in person after chatting with each other for a while, before Danae and Mandie eventually tied the knot in 2021.
They documented their life together on social media in several posts, with Danae and Mandie routinely appearing on each other’s Instagram pages.
On April 3, Mandie marked their third wedding anniversary by sharing their wedding video, with several clips of them dancing together during the reception.
“Happy you and me day,” she captioned the post.
Mandie would also often make cameos in her ex-wife’s TikTok comedy skits.
A chapter is closing, but I’m ready to start that healing process and get out the other side.
Danae Hays
Before she met and eventually married Mandie, Danae lived in a small town in Alabama with her parents.
‘LOVE IS LOVE’
In an interview with LGBTQ Nation, she revealed that her mother sent her to conversion therapy at 9 years old, after Danae shared that she was attracted to girls.
At the age of 25, she moved out of her hometown, met Mandie, and publicly embraced her sexual identity.
In June 2020, Danae celebrated Pride Month for the first time as a “confident gay woman…soon to be married woman” in an Instagram post.
She described her journey of unlearning beliefs that were “instilled in me from the time I was a young girl” before establishing a new set of values that are “centered around LOVE above all else.”
“Finally I realized MY comfort and happiness were far more important than the people who tried to tell me it wasn’t. Love is love, there’s no such thing as gay love or straight love..it’s just…love,” she affirmed.
