MrBeast announces engagement to Thea Booysen on Christmas Day and is planning 'intimate' island wedding

Popular YouTube star MrBeast has announced that he's engaged to girlfriend Thea Booysen.

MrBeast, 26, popped the question on Christmas Day, surrounded by the pair's nearest and dearest who were in on the surprise.

Booysen, 27, told People: "My family flew out from South Africa for Christmas and we were going to do Christmas in our house so both families were here. We were opening presents, and then for the very last present he asked me to close my eyes because it was a surprise."

"I intentionally dropped a large box to make noise before presenting the real gift - with the ring inside - to her. And then I went down on a knee and proposed," MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, added.

MrBeast popped the question on Christmas Day (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video)

"I was trying to think of the best way to catch her off guard so it would be a surprise. Thea is really close to her family, so I wanted to make sure that they were included in this momentous occasion. Christmas worked out great because they were in town from the other side of the world."

The pair first crossed paths back in 2022 when he was paying a visit to her home country of South Africa and met the fellow gamer at the dinner party of a mutual friend that Booysen was also invited to.

MrBeast spoke to People about the moment he first met his now fiancée, and he recalled the pair forming a close bond from the off.

MrBeast met his now fiancée in 2022 (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video)

He said: "When we were first introduced, it came through right away how brilliant Thea is. She has such a range of knowledge and can go deep on lots of topics. She told me about her work as an author and how passionate she is about her hobbies - we vibed instantly. I kept thinking she is really smart and beautiful. I knew within the first few minutes of meeting that I wanted the chance to date her. Thankfully, she also felt a strong connection."

Booysen also revealed what it was like meeting the social media star for the first time.

"When I met him, I was quite surprised how down-to-earth he was, and also how intelligent he was," she said.

"I thought YouTubers were just sort of a persona, but when I met him, I was quite surprised to see that he's actually a nice guy. He wasn't sitting there with an ego."

Speaking about their wedding plans, the 27-year-old added: "We're thinking of doing it somewhere on an island where we're far away from just about everybody.

"We're not going to try and have a big, extravagant wedding. It's going to be nice, but it's certainly going to be intimate [with] close family and friends."