TikToks may only be a few seconds long, but the drama amongst its most popular creators seems unending. Here’s a breakdown of the Jaden, Mads, Nessa, and Josh drama: TikTok’s first “love square,” if you will.
TikToker Mads Lewis blew up the internet last week when she posted a now-deleted TikTok to Taylor Swift’s new song, “Sabotage.” The video followed the popular trend and showed a montage of Mads and her now ex-boyfriend, Jaden Hossler (another TikToker/music artist). The montage was cut short by clips of Jaden and Nessa Barrett, Mads’ ex-best friend and Jaden’s best friend, Josh Richards's girlfriend (I know, this is a lot)! Fans freaked out over the video which insinuated something was going on between Jaden and Nessa, that led to Mads and Jaden’s split.
Both pairs of couples have been dating on and off for the last year or so. There have been rumors of Nessa and Mads feuding since July 2020, unfollowing and refollowing one another on social media more times than we can count! However, before then, the two were very close friends, even living together in an apartment for a few months.
Jaden and Nessa are both pursuing professional music careers, and released a duet, “La Di Die,” together in February. The music video has 19 million views and counting, on YouTube, and the two recently performed on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen.
Since the song’s release in February, fans have been shipping Jaden and Nessa, which is no surprise given their musical chemistry and talent! But from the outside looking in, the couples didn’t seem to give the shipping a second thought. And realistic fans chimed in the comments section, convinced Jaden would never do that to Josh, his best friend of several years now.
After Mads’s TikTok went viral, rumors swarmed through multiple platforms. No one believed Mads; everyone called her crazy. On last week’s first emergency episode of Josh’s podcast with Founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, “BFFs,” Josh explained the video upset him but he didn’t believe the insinuations. He revealed he spoke to both Ness and Jaden, and thought Mads was just being jealous and crazy. Josh went on to express his love for Nessa, whom he split with just a week or two prior to the scandal. Nessa needed space from Josh to focus on her mental health, and Josh seemed to be committed to waiting for Nessa to be ready to get back together.
So, fans were shocked when Josh said the couple was done for good and would never get back together, just a few days after the airing of the first emergency episode. However, Josh continued to shut down cheating rumors surrounding Jaden and Nessa, insinuating Mads was envious of their friendship, and totally wrong for posting the video to begin with.
The internet turned on Mads for starting so much drama and hurting those involved, particularly Josh. But Mads was finally able to speak her truth on another Barstool podcast, “Call Her Daddy.” Mads sat down with host, Alex Cooper, to reveal what really went down behind the scenes.
Mads began by specifically apologizing to Josh, admitting it was selfish of her to bring this all on to social media, and explained how angry and utterly heartbroken she felt in the moment -- the idea that her posting it would hurt Josh hadn’t even crossed her mind.
Alex defended Mads, reminding listeners that Mads is only 18 with a platform of millions of people. A decision to post a video in a moment of anger and heartache is not an absurd move for a teenager finding her way through a messy situation. Josh explained it best himself on “BFFs,” “it’s like one of those dumb high school fights you see, except now every high school kid has 10 million followers,” (and this dumb high school fight has all of us on the edge of our seats).
These four have their own emotions to process with the commentary and criticism of millions of strangers.
Mads tearfully walked Alex through the night before she had posted the TikTok. Jaden had given Mads his iPad to borrow for the night since she broke her phone and would be home alone all evening, as Jaden was heading off to Laguna Beach with Nessa and a couple of mutual friends. Mads noticed Jaden delete a notification, and had an inkling something was off. She had been ignoring a gut feeling for the last few weeks as her and Jaden were pretty unhappy as a couple.
Like any of us in this situation would have done (don’t lie, you would have), Mads caved into her curiosity and suspicion, and went through the iPad. She came across voice memos between Jaden and his manager that revealed Jaden and Nessa’s budding feelings for one another, and encouragement from Jaden’s manager to break up with Mads. She explained the recordings ended with Jaden’s manager excited about the potential between Nessa and Jaden saying, “hopefully you guys can pursue what you already started.” Mads immediately called Jaden multiple times until he finally picked up, and ultimately ended things with him.
Mads explained how she initially believed Jaden when he said he did not cheat on her, but was left with strong suspicions when he ended their phone call with “don’t tell Josh,” referring to the voice memos Mads found on iPad. Heartbroken and frustrated by the secrets and lies, Mads posted the video.
Just a day or so before Mads’ appearance on “Call Her Daddy” aired, Nessa and Jaden were spotted holding hands, hugging, and kissing while out to dinner. The new couple’s debut upset a lot of fans, and it didn’t take long for Josh’s closest friends to take to social media to air their frustrations. In true influencer fashion, Jaden hopped onto Instagram live to explain himself in response. Jaden repeatedly apologized for hurting people, and begged Josh to talk to him.
Unlike his friends, Josh remained silent on the situation until the second emergency episode of “BFFs'' dropped the day after Mads’s appearance on “Call Her Daddy.” (Who would have ever thought Barstool Sports would be mediating TikToker drama?)
To everyone’s shock, Josh threw more shade at Mads, and seemingly defended Nessa and Jaden! He assured listeners he doesn’t think Jaden and Nessa intended to hurt him. Fans speculate Josh is blinded by his love for Nessa and his best friend, that he doesn’t want to see them in such a bad light. He told Dave he’s been shutting off his phone and trying to not pay attention to the paparazzi footage.
Regardless of what side you’re on, and there are a lot of sides to this story, it’s safe to say whether you have 20 followers or 20 million, heartbreak and betrayal hurts. A little compassion towards these teenagers will go a long way, as they pick up the pieces of their relationships and friendships while the TikTok world watches.