A licensed physician, a devoted mother, and the name behind one of YouTube’s most searched relationships.
For four years, Katherine “Katie” Tyson was married to a member of one of YouTube’s most-watched channels. She appeared on that channel exactly once.
Katie, whose maiden name was Farquhar, is a licensed physician based in North Carolina. She and Chris Tyson married in 2018 and separated in early 2022, finalizing their divorce in 2023. They have one son together, Tucker Stephen Tyson, born June 18, 2020, and continue to co-parent him. Chris, now known as Ava Kris Tyson, came out as a transgender woman in 2023 and permanently left MrBeast in 2024. Through all of it, Katie has remained largely private. When she did step forward publicly, it was not to talk about herself.
Table of Contents
Who Is Katie Tyson?
Katie grew up on Harkers Island, a small coastal community on the North Carolina coast. She earned her degree in Neurodiagnostics from the University of North Carolina in 2019, then went on to further studies in Pulmonology. She currently works as a licensed physician at ECU Physicians, a North Carolina medical center specializing in cardiovascular and diabetes care, within its Pulmonary department.
| Full name | Katherine Anne Tyson (née Farquhar) |
| Date of birth | July 21, 1994 |
| Hometown | Harkers Island, North Carolina |
| Education | UNC — Neurodiagnostics (2019); Pulmonology studies |
| Career | Licensed physician, ECU Physicians, Pulmonary |
| @katiefarquhartyson — 140,000+ followers | |
| Business | Tucked Threads boutique; Amazon marketplace |
| Sister | Lauren |
Outside medicine, Katie runs Tucked Threads, her own online boutique, and an Amazon marketplace selling home organization products, clothing, and beauty items. Her Instagram, @katiefarquhartyson, draws over 140,000 followers through lifestyle, fashion, and travel content.
The Marriage
Chris and Katie had been together for roughly three years before marrying in 2018 — Chris was 21, Katie was 24. The marriage was publicly announced in May 2018.
Despite being partnered with one of MrBeast’s most visible on-camera figures during the channel’s biggest years of growth, Katie kept her distance from the YouTube world. She made one appearance across the full span of the relationship, in the video “Giving Friend One Hour to Spend $100,000 Challenge.” That was the extent of her presence on the channel.
The couple announced a pregnancy in January 2020.
Tucker Stephen Tyson
Tucker Stephen Tyson was born on June 18, 2020. His first MrBeast appearance came in “I Spent $1,000,000 on Lottery Tickets and WON,” and he has since built over 310,000 Instagram followers, introduced to the platform as “the first baby in MrBeast’s team.” Tucker turns six in June 2026.
Karl Jacobs, the MrBeast crew member and on-camera regular, is Tucker’s godfather.
When trolls posted that Tucker was losing a father figure over Chris’s gender journey, Chris responded publicly:
“Tucker begs for me to come back when I leave for like 2 days to film. He is so loved and happy. Kids aren’t born with hate, it’s taught by people like you. And my child will only know love.”
Why Did Chris and Katie Tyson Separate?
By 2022, both Chris and Katie had stopped appearing in each other’s social media posts. The last photo Katie posted with Chris dates to around Christmas 2021. Fans noticed. Over the following months, questions accumulated.
On March 28, 2023, Chris addressed it on Twitter:
“For a little over a year now me and Katie have been separated. We are finalizing things soon but these things take time. We like to keep our personal lives private, which a lot of people don’t understand because we share so much, but this is the only time I want to discuss it.”
The separation had happened in early 2022. Chris made it public roughly a year later. The divorce was finalized in 2023.
Neither Chris nor Katie has stated the reason publicly. Specific explanations circulating on social media have not been confirmed by either of them. What Chris has confirmed is that Katie was not blindsided by the years leading up to any of it:
“You guys think that Katie for the last seven years has not been living with me? She was four years my wife, three years my girlfriend. She was there the whole way. She was supportive in her own way.”
Chris Tyson’s Gender Transition
The public narrative tends to start at 2023, but the timeline goes back further.
In November 2020, during the US presidential election period, Chris came out publicly as bisexual on Twitter:
“I am bisexual and when I told the few people I did when I was 16, I got a lot of negative backlash from friends/family. Just know if the people around you don’t love and support you, we always will.”
By February 2023, Chris had begun hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The public found out in April 2023, when a fan posted two side-by-side photos of Chris with the caption “bro wtf happened.” Chris quote-tweeted it: “HRT, and it’s only been 2 months.”
Chris followed up:
“Informed consent HRT saved my and many others’ lives. The hurdles gnc people have to jump through to get life-saving gender-affirming healthcare in a 1st world country is wild to me. Just let people make informed decisions about their own bodies.”
In July 2023, in a widely watched interview with YouTuber Anthony Padilla, Chris formally came out as a trans woman and began going by Kris Tyson, using she/her pronouns. She said:
“For the longest time, even to say it to some of the closest friends, it would make my hands shake. I would get so nervous. But now, I can say I’m a woman. I’m happy to say I’m a woman. It’s something that’s honestly so freeing.”
By 2024, she updated her name to Ava Kris Tyson.
MrBeast’s Response to the Backlash
After the HRT announcement went public, Australian YouTuber SunnyV2 posted a video titled “Why Chris Will Soon Be a Nightmare for MrBeast,” arguing Chris’s transition would damage the brand. It pulled millions of views within hours.
MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) replied on Twitter:
“Yeah, this is getting absurd. Chris isn’t my ‘nightmare’ he’s my fucken friend and things are fine. All this transphobia is starting to piss me off.”
Karl Jacobs responded separately: “I’m watching the whole friend group livin happy lives, being them to the truest extent, and counting up their money, but keep battling on twitter.”
When Chris had first shared the HRT news with the group, MrBeast had already posted “Gotchu” with three heart emojis, adding: “I did one more heart than Karl because I’m a better friend.”
Katie Tyson’s Public Statement: June 2024
For most of the period between 2022 and 2024, Katie stayed out of public commentary entirely. That changed in June 2024.
Former MrBeast crew member Jake the Viking publicly agreed with Twitch streamer Nickmercs, who had told Ava Kris Tyson to be “ashamed” for “leaving behind your wife and child to play pretend.” Katie posted a public response:
“Mine and Tucker’s life are both better than ever. Tucker’s life is kept relatively private, as much as it can be, solely because of people like you who try to make a headline topic with a 4-year-old’s life blasted as a headline. Imagine having to get introduced to the internet and having all of your life as headline topics. All his life bashed all over the internet.”
She confirmed Tucker was “loved and cared for by both parents in both homes,” addressed Nickmercs directly as a parent himself — “Be better. Set better examples” — and added:
“Trans people can be great parents, them and their ex-partners can have cordial and healthy co-parenting relationships.”
It was the only public statement she made during the entire 2024 controversy.
Why Did Chris Tyson Leave MrBeast?
In July 2024, screenshots surfaced of past messages between Ava Kris Tyson and a 13-year-old fan, reportedly sent when Ava was 20. Ava called the messages “bad edgy jokes” and denied grooming. She permanently stepped away from MrBeast.
MrBeast commissioned an independent law firm investigation:
- 4.5 million+ documents reviewed
- Nearly 40 interviews conducted with current and former employees
- Finding by late 2024: the specific grooming allegations were “without basis”
The professional separation had already been confirmed before the investigation concluded. Ava Kris Tyson has kept a low public profile since. Claims that she has detransitioned have been circulating on social media since 2025 but carry no supporting evidence.
As of May 2026, Katie Tyson still uses the Tyson surname on Instagram, continues her medical work at ECU Physicians, and raises Tucker away from public attention as much as possible. No new relationship has been confirmed publicly.
In June 2024, when headlines circled back to her ex-partner and her four-year-old’s name was being spread across social media, Katie Tyson posted one response, ending on seven words: “All his life bashed all over the internet.” Then she went back to work.
That, more than anything else in this story, is who Katie Tyson is.
Sources: Rolling Stone, Variety, The Advocate, PinkNews, Sportskeeda, SVG, E! Online, UniladTech, LGBTQ Nation
