NEED TO KNOW
Dixie D’Amelio, who rose to fame on TikTok in late 2019, opens up to PEOPLE about her decision to step back from social media over the last few months
“I think I’m in the process of still trying to catch up from all that’s happened the past couple years,” says the influencer
She has recently gotten more involved with the fashion world — attending Paris Fashion Week with Balenciaga in March — and continues to run popcorn brand Be Happy Snacks with her family
Dixie D’Amelio is reevaluating her relationship with fame.
The influencer first shot into superstardom in late 2019 at age 18, along with her sister Charli, racking up tens of millions of followers on TikTok and becoming one of the most recognizable creators on the platform. The spotlight only grew brighter in 2021 when Dixie, Charli and their parents became the stars of The D’Amelio Show, a Hulu reality TV series that followed their personal lives until it concluded in 2023.
But longtime fans of the influencer will have noticed that she’s been a bit quieter on social media over the last few months — a change of pace from her daily posts during the early years of her career.
Half a decade since she entered the public eye, Dixie caught up with PEOPLE to discuss her decision to step away from the limelight, how she remembers those early years of whirlwind fame and her plans for the future of her platform — including a popcorn brand, Be Happy Snacks, that she launched with her family.
“I think I’m in the process of still trying to catch up from all that’s happened the past couple years,” says Dixie over Zoom, calling from her Los Angeles home. “I needed to get in my body and my mind and regroup and become an adult.”
Dixie was one of the original members of the Hype House, a TikTok creator collective that started in late 2019. Though she and her sister exited in May 2020, Dixie’s following continued to grow at a rapid rate, which she attempted to leverage into the launch of a music career, releasing her debut single “Be Happy” several months later.
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Dixie D’Amelio
The song became a viral meme at the time — but with five years of distance, Dixie can look back and laugh.
https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
“For a while, I found it embarrassing,” admits Dixie. “But I love it.”
“I love holding onto past parts of myself because I feel like that every building block makes you,” the social media star continues. “I think it’s so cute, and I have a little time capsule of myself and who I was at that time.”
Dixie would go on to release a string of singles, including a 15-track album A Letter to Me in 2022, though she stopped putting out new songs in late 2023. When asked if she has plans to return to the craft, Dixie admits, “I haven’t really stopped.”
“I just have been making music personally for the past couple years, which obviously no one would know,” says the star. “I have just really enjoyed figuring out what I want to do and how I want to write — and using all the skills that I’ve learned throughout my life to do something that I’m passionate about in the way I want to do it.”
She adds that, over the last couple of years, she’s just been “having fun sitting with the songs I’m making” without any of the pressure of a consistent release schedule: “I didn’t realize how much control I could have, and now that I do, I’m really enjoying it.”
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And that evolved outlook has spilled into other aspects of her life as well.
While the early years of Dixie’s TikTok fame were often defined by her splashy romances with peer social media creators — namely Griffin Johnson, from whom she split in 2020, and Noah Beck, whom she dated until 2022 — she’s started to draw more clear boundaries with the public.
Lexus Gallegos/Getty
Dixie D’Amelio
As for her love life right now, Dixie tells PEOPLE, she’s “keeping it personal.”
“That’s something I’ve been so happy with this past year,” continues the star, reflecting on her decision. “It’s just like, ‘Oh, I can keep that to myself. Why not?’ If that makes me feel safer and better, then sure.”
As she’s gotten older, Dixie has also found herself gravitating towards the world of fashion. In March, she attended a Balenciaga show at Paris Fashion Week — and she says she’s just getting started.
“I’ve been enjoying going to all the fashion weeks and being dressed by these amazing, beautiful designers,” says the influencer. “Building those connections and trying all the different, beautiful clothes — it’s just been so amazing.”
Be Happy Snacks
D’Amelio Family
She is also a brand owner. Alongside the rest of the D’Amelio clan, she released Be Happy Snacks, a line of several unique popcorn flavors, in 2023. To represent the product, she’s attended a few snack conventions with her family over the last year and even handed out free products at her hometown grocery store in Norwalk, Conn.
And in August, the popcorn line, which previously was exclusive to Walmart, is hitting an exciting milestone: it’s launching in every Costco Wholesale store in the United States.
“I’m always around my family, so for me, I love anything to be close and doing stuff together,” says Dixie of working on the brand. “Everyone just loves what we make.”
After a low-key summer — Dixie has mostly spent her time training her 1-year-old golden retriever, and she’ll be traveling to Hawaii to celebrate her 24th birthday this week — she tells PEOPLE she’s ready to get “a little more busy.”
Be Happy Snacks
Dixie D’Amelio
“This was a transformation time, figuring out and settling into being an adult and how to take on the next step in my life,” says the star. “It was a natural step of growing up outside of media and music and everything.”
“It’s OK to slow down,” Dixie concludes. “It is chaos all the time, it’s in your face and you have to balance yourself so you can handle the chaos.”
Read the original article on People
