What began as a business collaboration between two of the internet’s biggest celebrities has become one of the messiest influencer feuds of 2026.
Alix Earle and Alex Cooper were once very much tied together through Cooper’s Unwell Network. When Earle joined the company in 2023 with her Hot Mess podcast, the partnership looked like a big win for both. But by early 2025, Earle was out — and neither woman gave the public a clear explanation for what had happened.
Now, after months of cryptic posts and online jabs, the situation has become much harder to ignore.
How Alix Earle and Alex Cooper First Became Connected
Earle was already a huge TikTok personality when she joined Unwell in August 2023.
For Cooper, bringing Earle into the network made sense. Cooper had built an enormous audience through Call Her Daddy and was expanding Unwell into a broader media company aimed at younger audiences.
Earle’s Hot Mess podcast quickly became an important part of that expansion.
At the time, there was little indication that the relationship would eventually become so complicated.
What Happened to Alix Earle’s Hot Mess Podcast?
The first major sign that something had changed came in February 2025.
Earle’s Hot Mess podcast was dropped from Unwell Network, with reports saying SiriusXM would no longer sell advertising for the show. Unwell also gave up its rights to the podcast, allowing Earle to pursue other opportunities.
What made the situation strange was Earle’s own reaction.
She posted on TikTok that there had been a lot of discussion about her work but said she didn’t know what was going on. She later announced that she was stepping away from podcasting for the foreseeable future.
That immediately made fans wonder whether there was more happening behind the scenes.
And honestly, the lack of a straightforward explanation probably made the speculation even bigger.
The Relationship Became Increasingly Awkward
The tension didn’t disappear after Hot Mess ended.
In August 2025, Earle posted a TikTok about her horoscope suggesting that it was time for “revenge.” When a follower asked her to explain what happened with Alex Cooper, Earle replied, “How much time do you have?”
That one response was enough to send fans into detective mode.
Then, in October, Cooper appeared to reference the phrase in a promotional post for an Unwell event. The post used Britney Spears’ “Circus,” which fans connected to Earle’s recent Dancing With the Stars performance.
Neither woman explicitly said the other person’s name, but online audiences noticed.
The Feud Exploded in 2026
Things became much more direct in April 2026.
Earle reposted a TikTok criticizing Cooper and accusing her of profiting from people’s difficult experiences through Call Her Daddy. Cooper eventually responded publicly, calling out Earle for what she described as passive-aggressive reposts, likes and comments.
Cooper’s message was essentially simple: if Earle had something to say, she should say it herself.
She also asked the question that had been sitting over the entire situation for months: what exactly was the beef?
Earle then reposted Cooper’s response with, “Okay on it!!”
At that point, this was no longer just fan speculation.
So Why Did They Actually Fall Out?
This is where things get complicated.
There is still no complete, mutually confirmed explanation from both women.
Reporting has pointed toward disagreements surrounding Earle’s business relationship with Unwell, including creative control and contract issues. The Los Angeles Times reported that people familiar with the situation viewed the dispute primarily as a business disagreement rather than a simple personal falling-out.
There have also been theories about jealousy and competition, but those remain theories rather than established facts.
Earle herself has previously hinted that what happened behind the scenes was complicated. In a 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, she described the situation around Hot Mess as “a little bit of a hot mess.”
So while fans want one dramatic reason, the reality may be much less straightforward: a business relationship broke down, and personal feelings appear to have followed.
Alix Earle Is Now Building Her Own Path
The biggest difference between then and now is that Earle no longer needs Unwell to define her career.
She has continued building her own brand and is now the star of Netflix’s upcoming reality series Earle Meets World, which premieres September 4, 2026.
The timing is interesting because the new series is expected to give viewers a much closer look at Earle’s personal and professional life.
And according to a preview reported this week, the Unwell fallout will actually be discussed on the show. Earle reportedly describes the experience as a “betrayal” and says she felt Cooper took advantage of her admiration. Those are Earle’s allegations, not independently established facts, and the full context is expected to emerge as the series rolls out.
Alex Cooper Has Her Own Things Going On
Cooper, meanwhile, remains a major force in digital media.
Her Call Her Daddy empire is still huge, while Unwell continues to produce content and expand into other projects. But 2026 also saw some challenges, including Disney cancelling Unwell-produced Hulu reality series Love Overboard after just one season and the reported shutdown of Unwell’s beverage line.
That makes the renewed Earle-Cooper drama even more interesting.
Both women have moved on professionally, but neither has completely escaped the story of how their partnership ended.
Will Alix Earle and Alex Cooper Make Up?
Right now, there is no clear sign of a reconciliation.
In fact, the opposite appears to be happening.
Earle Meets World is going to be on Netflix and with that the show is said to touch on Earle’s experience with Unwell, so the feud could become more prevalent in the coming weeks.
For now, the safest conclusion is that Alix Earle and Alex Cooper’s fallout appears to have started as a business dispute surrounding their professional relationship, but it eventually became personal and public.
And considering how much of the story still hasn’t been told directly by either woman, the biggest question may no longer be why did they fall out?
It may be what really happened behind the scenes before everything went public?
