Who is Vanessa Merrell? Her Age, Appearance, Family, Dating, Bio
Vanessa Merrell
Influencer Vanessa Merrell was born on 6th August 1996, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, and is one-half of the Merrell Twins brand. She and her sister Veronica – older than Vanessa by 45 minutes – are known affectionately to their fans as ‘Nessa’ and ‘Roni’, and began making YouTube videos in 2009 with help from their father Paul, who edited and produced all their content.
The glamorous brunettes have managed to remain relevant for over a decade, parlaying their online fame into lucrative contracts and even a short stint on the Disney Channel. According to their Wikipedia page, Veronica is. The dynamic duo grew up in Kansas City, but moved to Greater Los Angeles at the young age of 16 to pursue their dreams of acting and filming careers.
Career
In 2015, the twins enrolled into California State University, with Vanessa studying TV production and Veronica screenwriting. By then, they had already made their first TV appearances playing the characters Victoria and Valeria in “Jane the Virgin”, a recurring role but which petered out in 2016 after five episodes.
It’s interesting to note that Vanessa and Veronica rarely, if ever, pursue solo projects: in 2015, they portrayed identical twins Willa and Ella in the comedy “Faking It”, followed by roles as Mia and Maya in “The Standoff”. Since then, they’ve also brought to life characters such as Missy and Chrissy in “Hyperlinked”, and Lola and Layla in “Like a Boss”. The twins’ most recent joint role was playing two social media-obsessed girls in “Mean Girls 2”, the failed remake of the early 2000s classic.
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Vanessa and Veronica were able to network and get in with the right crowds, which helped them boost their online following and win YouNower of the Year at the 8th Shorty Awards. The sisters also won Best Live Social Media category at the 2016 Streamy Awards, and the following year were nominated for Choice Female Web Star at the Teen Choice Awards ceremony.
In the following years, they continued to be nominated in various categories at the Shorty Awards and similar ceremonies; they also developed and launched the successful reality dating show “Twin My Heart” in collaboration with AwesomenessTV. Other web shows on their resume include “Prom Knight”, “Breaking into College”, and “Where is My Romeo?”.
Additionally, Vanessa and Veronica launched their clothing line, True IMG, in July 2018.
Despite both sisters moving into the next stage of their lives as married women who hope to form their own families, they remain as close as ever and show no signs of breaking away from their brand. With that said, Vanessa and her musician husband John Vaughn formed the music duo Butterfly Tiger in early 2023, and have since released the debut single “Love Me (Like You Do)”.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Merrell twins’ early YouTube videos, a quick scroll through their channel shows that the sisters have been working tirelessly to become singers and models since their adolescence. However, it soon became obvious that their vlogs and lifestyle content were far more popular than their music: their “What It’s Like To Be A Twin” videos have been viewed millions of times, whereas their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” has yet to crack 400,000 views after 11 years.
Nevertheless, Vanessa and Veronica continued to upload covers and original songs such as “Taking Things Literal”. Sometime in 2014, they began transitioning to challenges, pranks, and more vlogs, a winning formula which they’ve been using ever since. To give you an idea of their current content, the sisters’ newest uploads include “Twins Swap Christmas Gifts”, “Taking My Twin Shopping For New Outfits!”, and “Swapping Credit Cards with My Twin Sister”.
Back to Vanessa’s dating history, prior to her relationship with John, she was linked to various love interests over the years. In February 2021, the Missouri native was rumored to be romantically involved with TikToker Bryce Hall, and longtime followers will fondly remember her relationship with fellow YouTuber Aaron Von Wormer.
Aaron and Vanessa began dating in October 2015, and regaled fans will unforgettable moments, many of which were recorded and uploaded online. In September 2016, the actress confirmed that she and Aaron had broken up but preferred not to share details. Although it took her a while to move on publicly, Aaron rejoined the dating scene a few months later and is currently a married father of two who seems uninterested in going back to his days of online fame.
everything is not as it seems 🚽 pic.twitter.com/JZhJKlNw1D
— Vanessa Merrell (@VanessaMerrell) October 19, 2019
Veronica Merrell
In December 2021, Veronica married YouTuber Aaron Burris, and launched the “RonRon Fam” YouTube channel. Although the Kansas City native took her husband’s surname, she continues to use her maiden name when it comes to business matters; however, netizens were more surprised to learn that she’d moved out of her comfortable and spacious home into Aaron’s small and somewhat cramped apartment.
‘She seemed like a strong independent woman to me, and now she just seems like a whiney wife who wants her husband to provide a house for her,’ one Reddit user griped, referring to a vlog Veronica uploaded in which she complained about Aaron’s apartment and the noisy neighbors.
As other Reddit users pointed out, Vanessa and Veronica have to split their YouTube paychecks several ways. Although they’ve certainly cut down on costs by employing their father as a full-time cameraman and their mother as a personal assistant, the twins must also pay their managers, agents, and writers – meaning that their seven-figure brand doesn’t translate into as much individual money as one may think. As such, Veronica’s decision to downsize by moving in with Aaron was economically savvy.
As YouTubers go, Aaron fits in perfectly with the family-friendly image that Veronica has cultivated over the years. His first video on the platform, “HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR DOG”, was uploaded in 2015, followed by challenges, hacks, and comedy content.
Naturally, Aaron’s marital status is reflected in his more recent videos, which often feature Veronica and her sister. From starting their own garden to going car shopping together, the husband-and-wife duo are pretty much inseparable, and Aaron and Vanessa’s camaraderie shows that he’s integrated himself perfectly into the Merrell clan.
