Tilly Whitfield has officially turned her back on the influencer lifestyle – and she’s not mincing words about why.
The 25-year-old Big Brother breakout star has launched a new YouTube series titled RESAY, alongside her best mate Marley Biyendolo – and it’s nothing like the filtered, product-pushing content we’ve seen from her in the past.
In a candid chat with Daily Mail Australia, Tilly revealed she’s walking away from traditional influencing after becoming disillusioned with its ‘dangerous’ culture.
‘I just want to stop selling people’s products,’ she said. ‘Like I don’t want to stop social media — obviously, I wanna invest in YouTube and I wanna invest in good quality content, opposed to people just selling stuff that’s a lie.’
‘We’ve seen how quickly Anna Paul can do that, and how quickly everything can turn around. So I just wanna invest in like actual legitimate content and invest in social media rather than influencing, if that makes sense.’
Tilly also didn’t hold back when asked if she believes influencer culture can be toxic.
Tilly Whitfield has officially turned her back on the influencer lifestyle — and she’s not mincing words about why
The 25-year-old Big Brother breakout star has launched a new YouTube series titled RESAY, alongside her best mate Marley Biyendolo — and it’s nothing like the filtered, product-pushing content we’ve seen from her in the past
‘Oh yeah, exactly,’ she admitted. ‘That’s why I’ve done so many silly things to my body. That’s honestly the truth.’
‘People are just selling things and they don’t know what’s in them. They don’t know what they’re selling. Like, I don’t wanna just take any product deal anymore. I only want to do things that I believe in.’
‘We’re promoting things to young girls for a quick buck. But we don’t genuinely know what we’re selling. That’s why we are moving over to YouTube.’
The duo’s new project RESAY – backed by Endemol Shine – features three wildly entertaining segments: Squirm Sessions, Spicy Dates and Glow Up.
‘It’s basically mini reality TV shows in YouTube episodes,’ she explained. ‘Instead of seeing a full series of a whole show and a whole cast, you’re going to get mini episodes of it and it’s like immediate gratification – you’re going to get immediate results.’
‘That’s just how I’ve been describing it to everyone. I’m like reality TV, but instead of a whole season, it’s just one episode and it’s a mini version of a TV show.’
Each episode is around 10 to 20 minutes long -the sweet spot, Tilly says, for Gen Z’s famously short attention spans.
‘Honestly, we are trying to keep it around like 10 to 20 minutes,’ she said. ‘This generation has extremely short attention spans, so definitely weighing in on that -especially with the YouTube audience being potentially quite a lot younger.’
‘I just wanna stop selling people’s products. Like I don’t wanna stop social media obviously, I wanna invest in YouTube and I wanna invest in good quality content, opposed to people just selling stuff that’s a lie,’ she said
Tilly didn’t hold back when asked if she believes influencer culture can be toxic. ‘That’s why, I’ve done so many silly things to my body. That’s honestly the truth,’ she said
Guests so far include Survivor’s George Mladenov, MAFS and Love Island’s Al Perkins, diver Sam Fricker, and MasterChef star Nat Thaipun — but it was Al and George who left the biggest impression.
‘You know what? I actually thought Al was very genuine. Like on TV he seemed like a bit of a f**kboy,’ she said, laughing. ‘But when he came into studio, he was honestly so lovely and quite entertaining.’
‘And George was just so lovely. Obviously, we see him on Survivor and he comes across as malicious, but when I met him in person, he was so lovely and so intelligent. That was a dream of mine because I always loved his season — I was devastated he didn’t win.’
For Tilly, YouTube is also part of a personal transformation — one that’s helped her undo the damage she says was caused by years of selling unrealistic beauty standards.
‘You can’t hide how you look on YouTube,’ she said. ‘On Instagram, you can curate how you look — you can stand a certain way, you can pose. But on YouTube, it’s really helping me to just be who I am.’
‘I see myself in the exact form that I was filmed in, and it’s okay. There’s no point going and like taking a certain picture and looking a certain way because everyone can see you.’
Tilly recently took the brave step of having all her facial filler dissolved — a decision she says reflects how far she’s come.
‘They dissolved all the filler that I had in my face,’ she revealed. ‘When I was off Big Brother, I was just getting all this free filler, all this free Botox… and I guess I had to promote it in exchange.’
Guests so far include Survivor’s George Mladenov, MAFS and Love Island’s Al Perkins (pictured), diver Sam Fricker, and MasterChef star Nat Thaipun — but it was Al and George who left the biggest impression
‘But now I’m reversing all the damage I’ve done. I’m happy in my natural state — which, I don’t love how my face looks — but it’s just better to be in yourself.’
She admits it hasn’t been easy reclaiming her natural look.
‘It definitely is scary to go back to how you originally looked,’ she said. ‘But what I found is the more you changed yourself and the further you looked from your natural self, the more I would hate how I looked.’
‘As I’m stripping back and going back to how I actually look, I’m like, “Oh wow, I actually like not having a ball of filler on my cheek.” Or I like not having the implants. Or I like not having the bleach blonde hair to the root.’
‘As I’m getting older, I actually like how I look. Like, we were born this way for a reason. We suit our natural hair, we suit how we look — for a reason.’
Working alongside Marley has also been a full-circle moment for the pair, who first bonded in the Big Brother house in 2021.
‘He is 30 years old and married and owns multiple houses,’ she said. ‘He really has his sh*t together.’
‘I’m probably like the sister that he never had. We are genuinely like siblings. Because we do so much work together and we’re so close, our relationship is good — we just say it how it is to each other.’
‘It definitely is scary to go back to how you originally looked,’ she said. ‘But what I found is — the more you changed yourself and the further you looked from your natural self — the more I would hate how I looked’
‘If I’m not doing the work good or whatever, Marley’s like, “Just sort yourself out — what the hell are you doing?”‘
Their friendship even extended beyond the show when Marley shared some of his prize money with her.
‘After Big Brother, there were these things that I really wanted — like this lighting stuff for my room — and Marley went and bought those for me,’ Tilly said.
‘I obviously helped him a lot with the voting and trying to get people around him during the series, so I feel like he definitely gave back to the people that helped him.’
And for those considering their own crack at reality TV? Tilly’s got advice.
‘Biggest advice — get their attention in your video,’ she said. ‘Imagine how many people are going to apply. These guys are watching so many videos and so many people are boring.’
‘Make yourself stand out or you’re not even gonna get past the first round. That’s what I would say.’
