Ethan and Grayson Dolan had 26.4 million fans. Then they erased themselves from the internet.

We live in a world where status, influence and followers add up to a new currency that stands entirely on its own.

With fans comes tireless support, endless amounts of brand deals and a global audience to sink your teeth into. 

And that's exactly what life was like for twin brothers Ethan and Grayson Dolan, who, at the height of their fame, had a combined following of 26.4 million fans across YouTube and Instagram.

Until they decided the spotlight was not for them anymore, and walked away from the public lives they had built. 

The twins had previously been in the spotlight since they were 14 years old when they stopped officially sharing content online for good in 2020. Since then, the pair have remained relatively low-key about their lives, aside from a quick public announcement that Ethan and his partner Kristina Alice had gotten engaged late last year.

Watch a snippet of Ethan and Grayson Dolan's video: Turning 21 With My Twin. Post continues after video.

So what else have they been up to lately? Well, first let's take a look back at their rise to stardom. 

Who are Ethan and Grayson Dolan? 

There's a certain set of prerequisites involved in building an audience. It requires finesse, a certain look (usually firmly rooted in the beautiful-face space), and an incessant tendency to jump onto the latest trend.

In 2014, the twins launched their YouTube channel and did just that. It was the height of influencer-related content, where Gen Zers and Millennials alike were interested in watching how objectively beautiful people went about their days. And Ethan and Dolan, just 14 at the time, wanted in.

In what can be argued as a relatively short time, the duo amassed 10 million followers. Over the course of seven years, they were able to build a brand centred around what they were doing, who they were hanging out with and the pranks they pulled on each other. 

Their rise to fame began on the now-defunct platform Vine. What started with just Grayson turned into twins sharing content and it worked. Really well. Quickly, they grew to three million followers. 

In 2017, the twins won Creator of the Year at the Streamy Awards. In 2020, they began co-hosting a podcast called Deeper With The Dolan Twins. 

They also collaborated with controversial beauty guru James Charles and mega social media star Emma Chamberlain. Eventually, they would satirically call themselves the 'Sister Squad'.

Ethan, Emma, James and Grayson. Image: Youtube. Together, they'd share their epic adventures and it was rumoured Emma and Ethan were dating (although their relationship was never confirmed).

The group disbanded after James got caught up in a controversy involving fellow YouTuber and beauty guru Tati Westbrook. In 2020, James said while he enjoyed his time with the Dolans and Emma, he grouped it in the "probably not again, but happy for the experience category".

"It was really, really cool to film these crazy over-the-top videos with, at the time, my best friends in the entire world," he explained in a YouTube video. "Basically, we were all just at very, very different parts of our careers and our lives and we needed to go in different directions."

Currently, Ethan is in a relationship with Australian model and dancer Kristina Alice. They have been together since 2019 after meeting the year prior for a Cub Sport music video directed by the Dolan brothers. Kristina was featured in the video and starred alongside Ethan.

On Tuesday August 1, 2023, after almost four years of dating, she announced their engagement.

"The most special day of my life," she shared alongside a photo of the pair hugging.

Image: Instagram @kristinaalice1.

Why did they leave social media? 

Ethan and Grayson walked away from all their social media platforms in 2021. But unlike many influencers, who leave with a bang, the Dolans exited relatively quietly. Fans were left confused every week as their YouTube channel went without any new updates.

That was until January 2021, when they came out with an explanation for their silence, confessing that there had been joy missing from their most recent videos. In the clip, which has since been made private, Ethan and Grayson explained they wanted to find "creative inspiration".

"We are not moving on from YouTube because we have a lack of appreciation for you guys. Your support over the past seven years of our lives — I can't even explain the level of appreciation I have for you," Grayson said.

Thank you so much for the past 6 1/2 years ♥️ https://t.co/brlLCHcRoK

— Grayson Dolan (@GraysonDolan) January 14, 2021

However, they still didn't come back. And the long-anticipated explanation came from the strangest of places — former actress Jennette McCurdy's podcast. 

In the 50-minute clip titled "the perils of fame", the trio discussed the difficulty in choosing what to share online and what to keep private. 

"It's a weird age that we're living in where you have this community that you converse with online... But then there's something you put out also reaches other people that you're not meant to be sharing with and so [that's when] over-sharing becomes a thing."

Not only did they stop posting to their flagship channel, eventually their podcast also sat dormant with no new updates. The twins explained turning 21 sparked a major change in their lives — and that change involved no social media. 

"I wanted to be an adult, and I wanted to change things that I saw were problems and that I felt passionately about," Grayson explained. "But it takes so long to learn about all of that stuff."

Grayson also alluded to other challenges that the pair faced but clarified he couldn't discuss what exactly was going on in his and Ethan's private lives, though he finished by saying it was time for their moment in the spotlight to end.

"This is life, and I think all good things do come to an end at one point or another and this is the point."

Ethan added, "There just comes a time, now is the time, that we want to move on to bigger and better things that are going to be more of a challenge for us."

Grayson and Ethan Dolan, 2018. Image: Getty.

The twin brothers also spoke openly about the passing of their father, Sean Dolan, at 50. There were rumours of fans wanting to turn up to the funeral, either in support or an attempt to speak to them.

"Reality sets in and I [had] to be prepared for this funeral service. I can't have people coming in and taking pictures so we had to bring a security service [in] beforehand," both boys shared. "It was really morbid and something that was unfortunate, but that's what the internet is when you put yourself at there."

Grayson went on to clarify: "We were defended by 99.9 per cent of our following. It could have just been haters or trolls who wanted to say something..."

What are they up to now?

The pair rarely share updates of their lives online but in July 2023, Ethan and Grayson announced their kinda-sorta return to the digital space.

On July 19, the twins posted about a new project they had worked on together, sharing they had worked on a film together. 

"Wrote directed and other things'd [sic] a short film with my broest friend [Ethan]," Grayson wrote on Instagram. "We're very grateful to be premiering at the Hollyshorts film festival this August. Our cast and crew are the reason this film is as special as it is to us!"

The short film was subsequently posted to their YouTube channel.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ɢʀᴀʏsᴏɴ ᴅᴏʟᴀɴ (@graysondolan)

In late 2021, Ethan was allegedly spotted by a fan at a shopping centre in Sydney, with his partner. The clip of them walking hand in hand amassed 300,000 views and more than 2,000 comments from fans who were in utter disbelief.

"They literally disappeared off all their social media and you find them [here] of all places," one user wrote. 

Another said: "If you had told me this three years ago, I would've broke [sic] down crying. I was obsessed with him."

In regards to their future, neither of them has any priority to stay in the spotlight.

"I think of fame and having an influence as something I don't hold personally valuable. I don't care if people think that I am famous and recognise me as being famous," they shared. 

"I just appreciate the voice that it's given to me and the ability to invoke change."

As for an eagerly awaited return to YouTube? We wouldn't recommend holding your breath.

This article was published on November 21, 2021 and has since been updated.

Feature Image: Getty/Instagram @kristinaalice1.