Dan and Phil’s relationship revelation is a reminder of how toxic fandoms can be

Dan Howell and Phil Lester, who have more than 13 million collective subscribers on YouTube. Photograph: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

This week, longtime British YouTubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester uploaded a new video confirming they have been in a secret romantic relationship for the past 16 years.

If you weren’t a deeply online child during the 2010s, you probably have no idea who Dan and Phil are, or why this matters. But to those who formed a robust parasocial bond with the duo – who have more than 13 million collective subscribers on YouTube – this was a revelatory moment. It was also a sobering reminder of the emotional damage that toxic fandoms can wreak on their subjects.