The TikTok dating drama between Halley Kate and Sophia La Corte explained

New York City-based influencers Halley Kate McGookin and Sophia La Corte are once again at the center of an apparent love triangle on TikTok, but it’s clear that the internet has taken the side of girl code.

For those who are unaware, the TikTok drama began in December 2023 when Sophia was reportedly dating Halley’s then ex-boyfriend, Reed Williams. Halley, who previously went viral after purchasing a Hamptons home and a brand new car in the same day, confirmed her split from Reed one month before Reddit users claimed they spotted him on a date with Sophia in New York City.

Halley later shared her candid reaction to the bombshell news, alleging in a series of since-deleted TikTok videos and comments that Sophia, who is also an influencer in Manhattan, had gone through Halley’s Instagram following list and sent a DM to Reed after their split. She also expressed her disappointment over the situation, given that she had described Sophia as her “friend” in a separate TikTok video.

However, Halley confirmed in March this year that she and Reed had quietly rekindled their romance. While the pair have seemed to be happily posting content with each other on social media since then, the drama was recently reignited when Reed made an appearance on Halley’s Delusional Diaries podcast in August, in which fans claimed that he appeared disinterested during the episode. The podcast was later deleted, which some TikTok users believe prompted Sophia to post a three-part video series about her previous date with Reed, titled: “How I got canceled by a girl I met maybe three times.”

Here’s everything to know about the supposed influencer love triangle, and why the internet can’t get enough.

Who are Halley Kate McGookin and Sophia La Corte?

Halley is a 24-year-old influencer living in Manhattan. She co-hosts theDelusional Diaries podcast with her close friend and fellow influencer, Jaz. Halley went viral in March when she was among the multiple New York City women who were punched on the street by an unknown man. She posted about the incident on TikTok and later filed a police report with the NYPD, which has since made an arrest in connection to the assault. She also sent Gen Z into a spiral after revealing that she had bought her very first house – and a car – on the same day.

The TikTok star first posted about her relationship with Reed, who isn’t an influencer, in early 2023 after meeting on the dating app Hinge. The pair dated for nine months, before Halley revealed on TikTok that they had split. On November 13, she shared a video of herself crying, as she wrote in the caption that she has “never felt the pain like this and my heart goes out to anyone who feels anything even slightly similar.”

Meanwhile, Sophia is an actor and influencer living in New York City. She co-hosts the Out of Touch podcast with hairstylist Brad Mondo.

When did all the drama begin?

As rumors surfaced last December that Reed and Sophia were spotted on a date, Halley took to TikTok to share her side of the story in a series of since-deleted videos. In one clip, which was reposted to Reddit, Halley claimed that “not even three weeks after dumping [her] out of the blue,” Reed had gone on a date with “someone [she] considered a friend and [was] with the night before buying shots for” her.

“Her bag is literally sitting in my closet because we dropped it at my apartment before going to the bar together,” Halley said in a TikTok at the time. She also alleged in the video that Sophia “went through my following and DM’d him on IG while standing next to me” at an influencer event.

In another deleted TikTok video, per a screen recording, Halley explained that she was “never planning on bringing this online but people started making videos about it” and she “tried to handle it offline” by texting Sophia “multiple times” but didn’t receive a response.

Halley further detailed the drama in a December episode of her Delusional Diaries podcast, titled: “Being a girl’s girl.”

“This just hurts me really bad because I also don’t want to hurt him in turn by having to make this a public thing,” she explained at the time. “It was shocking just in general that he would be on a date because when we broke up, he did tell me he didn’t think I was the love of his life. But he also [said]… ‘I need to be single right now [and] I have a lot I need to do on my own.”

In January, Sophia took to her own Out of Touch podcast to address Halley’s comments, claiming that she was “never friends” with the influencer and doesn’t “know who this girl is.”

“I would never stab one of my friends in the back,” she said at the time. “I would never drag a woman online, and I would never talk poorly about another woman. I defend other women.”

Are Halley and Reed back together?

Despite the drama, Halley confirmed months later that she and Reed had gotten back together. In a TikTok video posted on March 31, the couple were filmed kissing at a Drake concert as she explained in the caption that they had been dating again for “a little while now.”

“We are good and I’m happier than ever,” she told her 1.3 million TikTok followers, sharing that she “needed to take a beat and figure out my feelings and the situation before putting it online.”

“This was my first actual relationship and I was so excited to have a boyfriend and share that with you guys. Obviously that then meant I had to tell you guys when we broke up too and that sucked,” Halley continued. “I’m 23 and navigating my life the best I can. We have been back together for a little while now and I’m not gonna share the details of everything but in our time apart we both realized and learned A LOT.

“I just want to make this clear one time – as for the situation that happened amidst the breakup, absolutely nothing with that situation or what I said has changed. Actions and behaviors after are what changed,” she added, before asking her fans to “respect my decision and just know I’m doing what is best for me.”

She resumed posting photos of Reed to her social media last May, and most recently featured her boyfriend on a since-deleted episode of her Delusional Diaries podcast. In clips from the episode, which resurfaced on TikTok earlier this week, Reed opened up about why he decided to get back together with Halley after initially breaking up with her in November.

“When we first got together, it was fast-paced and we kind of met and started dating right away. I had kind of just moved to the city also, so I was still kind of figuring out who I was after college,” he explained. “When it started getting really serious between us, I just needed to take a step back and just do my own thing. I learned a lot about myself during that time. I just realized I’m a better person when I’m around her and she makes me happier than anyone else has, so I didn’t want to lose that.”

However, the resurfaced podcast clips raised eyebrows among fans, as some called out Reed’s dry responses and interactions with Halley. “This is an extremely hard watch,” one person commented on TikTok, while another user said: “Halley, babe. The bar is in hell.”

“She deserves so much more,” a third fan said.

Why has the drama resurfaced?

While the back-and-forth between Halley and Sophia appeared to have died down, the drama was reignited when Sophia posted a three-part TikTok video series about her infamous date with Halley’s current boyfriend – which many fans believe was prompted by the backlash to the Delusional Diaries podcast episode.

In the TikTok series, which has been viewed nearly 12 million times since it was posted on August 18, Sophia filmed a GRWM-style video as she spoke about “the time a girl I met maybe three times canceled me and got me destroyed on the internet.”

She recounted her date with Reed, which took place in December, describing him as “very sweet” and “super talkative.” The morning after their dinner and drinks, Sophia explained that she received a text message from Halley and confirmed that she didn’t respond to her text asking if she had gone on a date with Reed.

“I’ve never had a one-on-one conversation with her. I’ve met her maybe three times through work,” Sophia said.

In a follow-up post, she explained that she would “never DM anyone while I’m standing next to anyone” and claimed that Reed had “planned our date probably about a week before I happened to run into her at a work event.”

“By no means am I laughing at her,” Sophia said. “I totally get being upset over a man, I understand how bad it can hurt. I’m just laughing because none of that happened.”

She concluded the final video by saying that she and Reed went on “four or five dates” before she realized that he “was maybe not the one for me, and it kind of just dwindled.” However, that didn’t stop Halley’s legion of fans from criticizing the influencer for reigniting the drama months later, especially since Halley and Reed are in a relationship again.

“You telling this story when they’re back together,” one TikTok user pointed out in Sophia’s comment section, as someone else noted: “This dropping right after the deleted podcast is insane.”

“This was really icky and not respectful,” another person claimed. “Halley and Reed are back together and you make this video for what?”

In response to the backlash, Sophia posted another TikTok video on August 20, maintaining that “everyone in the situation was single” at the time. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you owned him, he wasn’t wearing a collar,” she sarcastically said in the clip. “She brought it online so I feel like it’s kind of fair for me to say my side of the story online, whenever I feel like it.”

Has Halley responded to Sophia’s three-part TikTok series?

Halley seemingly addressed the backlash to the Delusional Diaries podcast episode and Sophia’s viral TikTok series when she posted a cryptic TikTok video earlier this week, opening up about how she feels reading negative comments about herself online.

“Just letting y’all know I’m a real person just trying my best at life and I try to be as authentic about that as possible,” she wrote over the clip. “I get on this app every day to make people smile. I used to come on and be so excited to check my comments and now I dread opening my phone and reading lies, rumors, and hate.”

She continued: “And I hate that because this app has given me everything good in my life and I’m so grateful for it and all of you!!! But I feel defeated sometimes if I’m being honest. I love all of you who support me so much and I really try to just ignore the noise because there are so many amazing people on here. We just have to rise above.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for Halley Kate and Sophia for comment.