Can you judge a relationship by a 6-second video? It may not be fair and you may not have all the facts. But one couple recently learned that strangers on the internet are more than happy to be judge, jury, and executioner of a relationship based on a moment in time.
It all started with some snacks and a marathon.
Katie Vellios (@katievellios) is a marathoner and triathlete. Since joining TikTok, she’s often posted about the sports, which are obviously a source of joy in her life. She didn’t think too much of it when she posted a video her boyfriend Christian captured of her running last year’s Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.
In Vellios’ post, she can be seen running by, mid-marathon. She asks Christian for something to eat.
“I don’t have any,” he replies.
“What the f—? You had one job,” Vellios retorts without missing a step.
“I know,” he says.
Vellios captions the post, “When you gave your boyfriend extra snacks to give you during your marathon and he eats them all.” In a text overlay, she adds, “Thank god for aid stations.”
That was all it took. Vellios thought that at worst people might take issue with her tone and language. Instead, the internet mob came for Christian, their relationship, and Vellios herself—though not for how she spoke to him, but for being with him at all.
There’s just one problem. They’ve got Christian, the marathon boyfriend, all wrong.
In an exclusive interview, Vellios told BroBible the rest of the story.
‘Marathon Boyfriend’ Becomes The Internet’s Main Character
Vellios has just over 1,000 followers. The post about Christian eating her snacks has racked up 2.1 million views and counting in less than a week.
A search for “marathon boyfriend” on Tuesday turned up nearly 30 posts about Christian and Vellios. All seem to be castigating Christian and urging Vellios to break up with him.
People are accusing Christian of intentionally sabotaging her, being jealous of her, and making a wide variety of other bold claims that she says are untethered from reality.
One critic says Christian “probably doesn’t care” about Vellios. Their TikTok has 4.6 million views.
“The only appropriate response in that moment is to break up with that man,” another says. “I’m not even trying to be cutesy and dramatic.” That TikTok has 3 million views.
Even though they have very little information, people who commented on such posts overwhelmingly agree. They’re calling Christian things like “the villain” in Vellios’ life and making many other accusations and predictions.
Christian has turned his account to private and thus could not receive BroBible’s direct message seeking comment.
Via TikTok direct message, Vellios tells BroBible that it’s been overwhelming and “upsetting”—all the more so because people have important facts all wrong.
On top of all this, she’s grieving her grandfather, who passed away on Friday.
What Really Happened?
Vellios tells BroBible that there are two pieces of false information floating around. People believe Christian was solely responsible for providing Vellios with snacks and that he was supposed to compete but injured himself and couldn’t.
“None of that is true,” Vellios says. “I was actually very surprised to see him at all,” she adds.
There were over 16,500 runners and thousands more spectators at the 2024 Marine Corps Marathon, after all. In her video, you can see how crowded and noisy it is.
Vellios also says that Christian did not eat all her snacks, just the Rice Krispies Treats she asked for then.
“He did have other things,” she says. “I only wrote it the way I did to shorten it because I thought writing the entirety of the situation was too wordy for TikTok.”
Nevertheless, now he’s “being bullied like crazy on the internet,” which makes her feel terrible.
Further, she had food with her the entire time. She sent BroBible a photo and a video from the marathon in which you can clearly see her eating.
“I finished the race with snacks still left in my race belt, so at no time was I without fuel,” she says.
The race was ultimately a success. She got her personal record and had a great time doing it.
“It was such a happy day, I was so excited about the race,” Vellios says. “The worst part was that I was taking a video on my phone inside my belt the whole time by accident and I never realized so it died and I had no music for the last 10+ miles.”
Blaming The ‘Victim’
Vellios said she posted this clip nearly a year after the race because someone suggested it’s best to post daily to build a presence on TikTok. She never dreamed it would result in all this hate.
While the vast majority of the vitriol is directed at Christian, who Vellios says is “trying to take it on the chin,” some have attacked her too.
She sent BroBible screenshots of two direct messages she’s received from strangers since posting the TikTok.
One person said they’d “usually stick up for the woman, but if you’re defending that ‘man,’ you deserve him.” They also called her names and said she’s being groomed to turn into a “submissive trad wife.”
Another said that she’s lost “any sort of empathy I’ve ever had” for women who stay with men they know are “awful.”
Both of these messages came from people who use traditionally female names in their handles.
Vellios says she’d thought to post a response to the onslaught but has instead focused on grieving her grandfather.
“I’m also scared of posting anything/saying anything and making it worse,” she says.
“I feel like TikTok used to be a safe space for me and now I’m scared to even check my notifications,” Vellios adds.
@katievellios Thank god for aid stations 🙄 #marathon #running #marathontraining #marinecorpsmarathon