Halley Kate and Sophia La Corte's TikTok dating drama explained

New York City-based influencers Halley Kate McGookin and Sophia La Corte are once again at the center of an apparent love triangle on TikTok, but it's clear the internet has sided with the girl code.

For those unaware, the TikTok drama began in December 2023 when Sophia was reportedly dating Halley's then-ex-boyfriend Reed Williams. Halley, who previously went viral after purchasing a home in the Hamptons and a new car on the same day, confirmed her split from Reed a month before Reddit users claimed to have spotted him on a date with Sophia in New York City.

Halley later shared her candid reaction to the bombshell news, claiming in a series of since-deleted TikTok videos and comments that Sophia, who is also an influencer in Manhattan, had gone through Halley's Instagram follower list and DM'd Reed after their split. She also expressed her disappointment over the situation, given that she had described Sophia as her “friend” in a separate TikTok video.

However, Halley confirmed in March of this year that she and Reed had quietly rekindled their romance. While the pair appear to have been happily posting content together on social media since then, the drama was recently reignited when Reed made an appearance on Halley's show. Delirious diaries Podcast in August, in which fans claimed he seemed disinterested during the episode. The podcast was later deleted, which some TikTok users believe prompted Sophia to post a three-part video series about her previous date with Reed, titled: “How I got cancelled on by a girl I met maybe three times.”

Here's everything you need to know about the influencers' alleged love triangle and why the Internet can't get enough of it.

Who are Halley Kate McGookin and Sophia La Corte?

Halley is a 24-year-old influencer living in Manhattan. She is a co-host of the showDelirious diaries Halley’s podcast with her close friend and fellow influencer, Jaz. Halley went viral in March when she was among multiple New York City women who were beaten on the street by an unknown man. She posted about the incident on TikTok and later filed a police report with the NYPD, which has since made an arrest in connection with the assault. She also sent Gen Z into a tailspin after revealing that she had purchased her first home — and a car — on the same day.

The TikTok star first posted about her relationship with Reed, who is not an influencer, in early 2023 after meeting on the dating app Hinge. The pair dated for nine months, before Halley revealed on TikTok that they had split. On Nov. 13, she shared a video of herself crying, writing in the caption that she's “never felt pain like this and my heart goes out to anyone who feels something even slightly similar.”

Meanwhile, Sophia is an actress and influencer living in New York City. She co-hosts the show Out of touch Podcast with hairstylist Brad Mondo.

When did all the drama start?

When rumors surfaced last December that Reed and Sophia had been spotted on a date, Halley took to TikTok to share her side of the story in a series of videos that were later deleted. In one clip, which was reposted to Reddit, Halley claimed that “not even three weeks after breaking up [her] Suddenly, Reed had a date with “someone.” [she] considered a friend and [was] “with the night before buying him drinks.”

“Her purse is literally in my closet because we dropped it off at my apartment before we went to the bar together,” Halley said in a TikTok at the time. She also claimed in the video that Sophia “checked out my followers and DM’d her on Instagram while she was standing next to me” at an influencer event.

In another since-deleted TikTok video, according to a screen recording, Halley explained that she “never planned on taking this online but people started making videos about it” and that she “tried to handle it offline” by texting Sophia “multiple times” but did not receive a response.

Halley further detailed the drama in a December episode of her Delirious diaries podcast, titled: “Being a Girl’s Girl.”

“This hurts me a lot because I don’t want to hurt him either by having to make this public,” she explained at the time. “It was shocking overall that he was on a date because when we broke up, he told me that he didn’t think I was the love of his life. But also [said]… 'I need to be single right now [and] “I have a lot of things to do on my own.”

In January, Sophia made her own decisions. Out of touch podcast to address Halley's comments, stating that she was “never friends” with the influencer and that she “doesn't know who this girl is.”

“I would never stab one of my friends in the back,” she said at the time. “I would never report a woman on the internet and I would never speak ill of another woman. I stand up for other women.”

Are Halley and Reed back together?

Despite the drama, Halley confirmed months later that she and Reed were back together. In a TikTok video posted on March 31, the pair were filmed kissing at a Drake concert as she explained in the caption that they had been dating again for “a while now.”

“We’re doing good and I’m happier than ever,” she told her 1.3 million TikTok followers, sharing that she “needed to take a breath and sort out my feelings and the situation before posting it online.”

“This was my first real relationship and I was so excited to have a boyfriend and share that with you guys. Obviously, that meant I also had to tell you guys when we broke up and that was horrible,” Halley continued. “I’m 23 and I’m living my life the best I can. We’ve been back together for a while now and I’m not going to share the details of everything, but in our time apart, we both realized and learned A LOT.

“I want to make this clear once again: in regards to the situation that occurred during the breakup, absolutely nothing I said or that situation has changed. What changed were the actions and behaviors afterward,” she added, before asking her followers to “respect my decision and know that I am doing what is best for me.”

She reposted photos of Reed on her social media last May and most recently featured her boyfriend on an episode of her show that was since deleted. Delirious diaries In clips from the episode, which resurfaced on TikTok earlier this week, Reed opened up about why he decided to get back with Halley after initially breaking up with her in November.

“When we first started dating, it was all very fast and we met and started dating right away. I had just moved to the city as well, so I was still trying to figure out who I was after college,” he explained. “When it started getting serious between us, I had to take a step back and do my own thing. I learned a lot about myself during that time. I realized that I’m a better person when I’m with her and that she makes me happier than anyone else, so I didn’t want to lose that.”

However, the resurfacing clips from the podcast shocked fans, with some criticising Reed's dry responses and interactions with Halley. “It's extremely hard to watch,” one person commented on TikTok, while another user said: “Halley babe. The bar is hell.”

“She deserves so much more,” said a third fan.

Why has the drama resurfaced?

While the back-and-forth between Halley and Sophia seemed to be over, the drama was reignited when Sophia posted a three-part TikTok video series about her infamous date with Halley's current boyfriend, which many fans believe was motivated by the negative reaction to the Delirious diaries Podcast episode.

In the TikTok series, which has been viewed nearly 12 million times since it was posted on August 18, Sophia filmed a GRWM-style video as she talked about “the time a girl I met maybe three times cancelled on me and destroyed me on the internet.”

Sophia recounted her date with Reed, which took place in December, describing him as “very sweet” and “super chatty.” The morning after dinner and drinks, Sophia explained that she received a text from Halley and confirmed that she did not respond to his text asking if she had gone on a date with Reed.

“I've never had a personal conversation with her. I've seen her maybe three times at work,” Sophia said.

In a later post, she explained that she would “never DM anyone while standing next to someone” and claimed that Reed had “planned our date probably a week before I ran into her at a work event.”

“I’m not laughing at her at all,” Sophia said. “I totally understand you getting upset over a man, I understand how much it can hurt. I’m laughing because none of that happened.”

She concluded the final video by saying that she and Reed went on “four or five dates” before realizing that he “maybe wasn’t the one for me, and it just fizzled out.” However, that didn’t stop Halley’s legion of fans from slamming the influencer for reigniting the drama months later — especially since Halley and Reed are back in a relationship.

“You're telling this story when they're back together,” one TikTok user noted in Sophia's comments section, while another person noted, “This posting right after the deleted podcast is crazy.”

“It was really disgusting and disrespectful,” another person said. “Halley and Reed are back together and why did you make this video?”

In response to the backlash, Sophia posted another TikTok video on August 20, in which she maintained that “everyone who was in that situation was single” at the time. “Oh my god I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he owned you, he wasn’t wearing a collar,” she sarcastically said in the clip. “He posted it online so I feel like it’s only fair for me to tell my side of the story online, whenever I feel like it.”

Has Halley responded to Sophia's three-part TikTok series?

Halley apparently addressed the negative reaction to the Delirious diaries episode of Sophia's podcast and viral TikTok series when she posted a cryptic TikTok video earlier this week, in which she talked about how it feels to read negative comments about herself online.

“I just want you to know that I’m a real person doing the best I can in life and I try to be as authentic as possible about it,” she wrote alongside the clip. “I go on this app every day to make people smile. I used to go on this app and get so excited to see my comments and now I dread opening my phone and reading lies, rumors, and hate.”

She continued: “And I hate that because this app has given me everything good in my life and I’m so thankful for it and all of you!!! But sometimes I feel defeated if I’m being honest. I love all of you who support me so much and I really try to ignore the noise because there are so many amazing people on here. We just have to get over ourselves.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for Halley Kate and Sophia for comment.