The dark-skinned model got married to a blue-eyed blonde, Now they have incredibly beautiful children!

When Australian cinematographer Jamie Perkins married South Sudanese-born model Nikki Thot, many hailed their union as a modern-day fairytale. Their wedding, their children, and their seemingly perfect life together captured the imagination of millions. On YouTube, where they documented much of their journey, Jamie and Nikki became one of the internet’s most beloved couples. But as with many stories that look perfect from the outside, the reality behind the camera was far more complicated. Their whirlwind romance, viral fame, and eventual painful divorce revealed just how fragile love can be when lived under constant public scrutiny.

The couple first crossed paths in 2009 through MySpace, a platform that already feels like a relic of another era. Nikki was only 19, just beginning to establish herself in the modeling world after signing with IMG in New York. Jamie, then 25, was working as a cinematographer and slowly carving out a career shooting music videos. Their connection was instant, and by March 2010, they were married. Six years later, their first daughter, Ava, arrived in January 2016, followed by Zoe in March 2018. The family even had a loyal dog, Louis, rounding out the picture-perfect household.

Their fame exploded thanks to a grand romantic gesture. Jamie planned an elaborate public proposal in Melbourne’s Federation Square, where he surprised Nikki with a video projected on a giant screen. Her tearful reaction was captured by a friend and uploaded to YouTube. The video went viral, amassing more than 4.6 million views, and their wedding footage did even better, surpassing eight million. What started as a personal memory became the launchpad for their social media empire. Their channel, full of vlogs about daily life, family milestones, and adventures, resonated with viewers worldwide.

But as Jamie later admitted, the image of total transparency was an illusion. “People assume vloggers are sharing everything,” he once explained, “but we keep a lot of our life to ourselves. We’re just having fun, and it’ll be great to look back in 10–20 years and see what we were doing.” That balance—between authenticity and privacy—became increasingly difficult to maintain.

Nikki’s own journey to fame added another layer of complexity. Born in Khartoum, Sudan, her family fled the region in 1994 and settled in Victoria, Australia. Growing up in Melbourne, Nikki often straddled two worlds: the expectations of her immigrant parents and the pressures of Australian culture. Her father, who once dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, placed enormous value on education. He wanted Nikki to pursue medicine or law, not fashion. She resisted those expectations, chasing her passion for modeling, and later, YouTube. While her career gave her visibility, it also put her under intense scrutiny.

On their family channel, trolls frequently made Nikki’s race a subject of attack. She openly acknowledged the constant negativity. “All the trolls hide in the beauty section,” she said, referring to her personal beauty channel where comments could turn brutal. Their family vlogs, on the other hand, celebrated diversity and love. Still, the criticisms took their toll. Even in everyday life, the couple encountered prejudice. Once, a doctor questioned Jamie about how he knew Ava, highlighting how their interracial marriage and mixed-race children challenged some people’s biases.

As the years went on, cracks in their marriage began to surface. Balancing fame, parenting, and private struggles proved harder than their carefully curated online image suggested. By 2019, the couple had separated, though their divorce wasn’t finalized until 2023. When the end came, it was anything but quiet.

Jamie broke his silence with a candid YouTube video that stunned fans. He alleged that their marriage had been plagued by “abuse,” “violence,” and infidelity. He claimed Nikki had remained in contact with an ex-boyfriend early in their relationship and said the betrayal left lasting scars. He also revealed his diagnoses of PTSD, depression, and severe social anxiety, suggesting the breakdown of their marriage had left him struggling to rebuild.

Nikki publicly denied his accusations. On Instagram, she described herself as “extremely disappointed” in Jamie’s claims. She insisted she had tried to keep their private matters away from the public for the sake of their daughters, but she felt compelled to defend herself. “Nothing I could do was right, and I was at fault for anything that went wrong in his life,” she wrote, pushing back against his narrative.

Today, their lives look very different from the fairytale they once presented. Jamie continues to share parts of his life online, describing himself as a YouTuber, adventurer, and car enthusiast, but most importantly, as a single father devoted to Ava and Zoe, now eight and six. Nikki, too, remains active on social media, balancing her modeling career with motherhood. Despite their fractured relationship, both remain committed to raising their daughters with love and stability.

Theirs is a story that underscores the double-edged nature of internet fame. For years, Jamie and Nikki seemed to embody modern romance: a handsome Australian filmmaker, a stunning South Sudanese model, two beautiful children, and a family life that inspired millions. Yet the reality was far more complicated—proof that behind every viral video and Instagram-perfect snapshot, there may be struggles the audience will never see.

What endures beyond the divorce, beyond the allegations and the heartache, are the two children who remain the center of their world. For Jamie and Nikki, the fairytale may be over, but their devotion to Ava and Zoe ensures their story is still being written—this time in separate chapters, yet still bound by family.