Mon. November 20, 2023
Jon McKinney and Brian Merrill, the popular gay age-gap couple that continues to expand its worldwide audience as social media content creators under their Out Loud banner, will be in the spotlight on Jubilee Media, which airs on YouTube.
They were cast this fall to appear on Split Decision, the show that airs on Jubilee, which has more than 8 million subscribers.
They filmed the show on October 28 in Los Angeles, which McKinney tagged as a “mind-blowing experience.” The episode is set to air this Friday, November 24, GoPride.com has confirmed.
In their first exclusive interview about the upcoming reality show/social experiment, they talked about the episode that features four age-gap couples from across the country, answering yes/no questions about their relationships. Questions/topics included “I want to start a family with my partner,” “I think my partner should lose weight,” and “In bed, my partner is the best I've ever had.”
They did not know the questions before filming – and while the show host reads the question, couples stand back-to-back with a tile reading 'yes' or 'no' in front of them. After the question, each step onto a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ – all the while not knowing what answer their partner chose. After a three-second countdown, they turn around to see what their partner said.
“It was so cool to have three other age-gap couples there with us during the show,” McKinney said. “We laughed, cried and shared so many common challenges of being in an age-gap relationship. Viewers will get the chance to better understand what it’s like to be in an age-gap relationship. We get so much criticism and stereotypes thrown our way that it can get exhausting. People assume Brian, the older in our relationship is a sugar daddy, cradle robber or can’t get someone his own age, whereas I have people assuming I’m with an older man because of his money or because of daddy issues.
“This game will show that age-gap relationships are so much like every other relationship.”
Merrill added: “Even though we are in an age-gap relationship, we have the same challenges and victories as every other couple. And it was great to see we had so much in common with the other age-gap couples, no matter whether straight, gay or interracial; we’re all the same.”
McKinney is 29 and a physician assistant.
Merrill is 63 and is a creative director of copywriting.
They live in Providence, Rhode Island, have been dating for 5 years – and have close to 25,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel.
“Making videos on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram has changed our lives,” McKinney said. “By showing the world our age-gap relationship, we have gained so many new friends and been to so many places that my head is spinning. Despite both of us working full-time, we always find space in our week to film videos, whether (they are) about travel, gay lifestyle, relationships, cooking or health. We love what we do and see that this may become our full-time work, if things continue to grow the way they are.”
Merrill added: “In summer 2022 we released a video sharing our experience with backstage passes to Pride in Sitges, Spain. That video has north of 180,000 views. We have very consistent views and engagement on nearly every video. Sure, we’ll get some short videos on TikTok or YouTube with a couple hundred thousand views, like when we asked people along the street to choose (which of us) is more attractive, or when we ask (people to pick) ‘Daddy or Baddy. There may be some naughty behavior in those videos.
Videos are continuing, they confirmed, especially when they travel. They also have a successful podcast that is expanding.
McKinney and Merrill this past September hosted “Out Loud: The Epic Key West Getaway with Jon and Brian” is Florida, welcoming fans/subscribers of their YouTube channel for four-days of festivities, anchored at Alexander’s Guesthouse.
“Everything about Key West was magical – the location, the weather, the events and most importantly, everyone who went,” Merrill said. “We had a fabulous group of guys from across the country, and even from outside the country. This was our first group event and we learned how to make the next ones even better.”
Of course, they produced a video spotlighting some of the Key West shenanigans.
“The Key West event exceeded our expectations, and that’s why we are eager to continue growing into more locations for more group events like this,” McKinney said. “We are an age-gap couple and a lot of our YouTube videos discuss the challenges and benefits of this ‘unconventional’ type of relationship. Since all the people who went to Key West knew us from our YouTube channel, we had a mix of young and old singles, a few couples, and five other age-gap couples. Everyone got along super well and it was as much a group bonding trip as it was a needed vacation.
“As event organizers, you have a million things going on at one time and you want to make sure everyone is having fun. We organized a meet and greet cocktail party when everyone arrived, a ghost and graveyard tour around Key West, a key lime Pie cocktail and baking party, a pool party, a bingo with fabulous giveaways totaling over $3,000 in prizes, and a sunset cruise to watch the beautiful views on our last day. The weekend was a highlight reel in and of itself – but our greatest reward in doing this trip was finally getting to talk to the people who attended. These guys watch our videos on YouTube and know a lot about us, but we don’t know much about them. To have time to get to know everyone and connect was an amazing experience. We made all of this happen because of posting videos on the internet. How cool is that!?”
McKinney and Merrill are already their next fan festival: “Out Loud Desert Adventure to Palm Springs” in June 2024 to coincide with McKinney’s 30th birthday party. “Needless to say, this event is going to be a wild one,” said Merrill, who is planning the milestone birthday celebration, but not sharing many details with McKinney.
Next summer’s Out Loud adventure will include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway—the world’s largest rotating tram car—which travels close to three miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During the 10-minute journey, tram cars rotate slowly, offering picturesque and spectacular vistas of the valley floor below. At the Mountain Station—elevation 8,516 feet—visitors can enjoy two restaurants, observation decks, natural history museum, two documentary theaters, a gift shop and more than 50 miles of hiking trails.
Out Loud in Palm Spring also will include a drag brunch, pool party, BBQ Bingo Bash and much more.
“We’ve managed to book an entire hotel for our group from June 7-13, 2024,” McKinney said. “This will take place at The Monkey Tree Hotel, which has 16 rooms, and we expect a full hotel of around 25 people. One thing we really loved about Key West was having the entire resort to ourselves and so we are bringing that to Palm Springs. Our subscribers are looking forward to this so much that we booked over 50 percent of the rooms before even posting about it on social media.”
For more information about the “Out Loud Desert Adventure to Palm Springs” in June 2024, send emails to: outloudjb@gmail.com.
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