There’s an inevitable timeline to virality. First there is the burgeoning fame, then the ubiquitous online affection, followed by a fall from digital grace. We’ve seen it happen over and over.
Remember Ken Bone, the gentleman in a red sweater who won hearts during a presidential debate in 2016? It wasn’t long before internet sleuths unearthed his unsavory Reddit history. TikTok’s favorite emu farmer? You already know where this is headed. (In internet parlance, these characters are often referred to as “milkshake ducks.”)
Now, Campbell and Jett Puckett are experiencing the latter half of this timeline.
The Pucketts, a married couple who live in Georgia, rose to prominence on TikTok, where Ms. Puckett regularly posts videos of the couple modeling their outfits. It is technically his wife’s account, but Mr. Puckett has become beloved for the very particular ways he hypes up his wife, whom he affectionately refers to as Pookie.
“This is the ultimate Friday date night outfit,” Mr. Puckett says in one video from November, gesturing to his wife’s miniskirt and cardigan. “It’s the sexy but classy look that I love,” he says in a video of the pair getting ready to attend a college-football game.
“Pookie looks absolutely amazing,” he says in a more recent upload. It has been viewed over 6 million times. Mr. Puckett sometimes describes his wife’s outfits as “fire.”
At first, viewers were baffled by the couple’s videos. Many found them a vehicle for experiencing acute secondhand embarrassment. But in recent weeks, the tide has turned. “I love this man,” reads a representative comment on a recent video. “He is so awkward in every video, but it’s so sweet,” reads another.
