‘Survivor’ Bret LaBelle and YouTuber StanChris dish on their relationship and the 27 year age gap between them

YouTuber and TikTokker StanChris and his boyfriend, former Survivor contestant Bret Labelle, have been opening up about their relationship. Besides sharing some YouTube videos together, the men chatted with Bear World Magazine, which describes them as a Bear “It Couple”.

Labelle, 49, featured in The Amazing Race but is better known for his stint on a 2016 season of Survivor (Millennials vs. Gen X). Although appearing at first to be a stereotypically loud, beer-drinking, sports-loving police officer, he surprised many by coming out as gay during the show’s run.

He is now a Lieutenant in the Boston Police Department.

StanChris (real name Chris Stanley), 23, has picked up over a million followers across social media platforms. He often posts videos where he questions people on the street or larks around with fellow twinks.

He is also, it’s clear, into big ole bears.

How they met

The men will celebrate their second anniversary this year. They revealed they met after DM’ing each other on Instagram.

“I was binging Survivor during quarantine,” Chris explained. He says he watched Bret’s season and noted he was from Boston.

“I was in New Hampshire, so it wasn’t that far away.”

Chris was blown away when Bret came out and realized he was in with a chance.

“So I just shot my shot with him on Instagram. And it’s kind of weird because he had actually messaged me on Instagram before…”

Bret confirmed this.

“I got this message from him, and he already had a lot of followers at the time. Instagram has the three message boxes, the primary, general and the crazies. Usually, if you don’t follow someone, they’re in the crazies. All of a sudden, he’s in my primary. I go, ‘How is he in my primary?!’

“So, I started going through the pictures and I get to the end, and I realized about six or seven months earlier, he popped up on my feed because a very good friend of mine who used to be my roommate, followed him. They lived near each other, and I was like, oh, he’s totally my friend’s type and I just assumed they had dated. So, in my drunken stupor, I sent him a message.

“We think this is a really cool story. It means that we both sought each other out at different times.”

Age gap

They began slowly dating. However, both said they had some concerns about their 27-year age gap.

“But as we got to know each other and as the relationship formed, it got to the point where I still was worried about it, he was becoming less worried about it,” says Bret. “But then, I said, well, who cares? This is working.”

On social media, they’ve had plenty of nasty comments regarding their relationship and the age gap. To them, it’s become water off a duck’s back.

Although both have other guy’s sliding into their DMs, they don’t really get jealous. They know it’s inevitable when you have a certain public profile. That said, Bret admitted he felt a little weird filming a recent “kiss or slap” video in Provincetown. He doesn’t usually act as cameraman for Chris but does so if there’s no-one else available.

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“It’s not that I get jealous,” Bret said. “A lot of people know who I am now when I’m sitting there holding the camera. It just feels a little weird. So I’m just saying, maybe if I’m the cameraman that day, don’t do that one. That’s all,” he laughed.

Making content together

Bret said that because of his public sector job, he’s been wary of taking part in Chris’ videos. However, he has recently agreed to take part in a couple, in which they talk more about their relationship and romance.

“We’re seeing how it goes,” Bret said. “I enjoy how it’s going now. This is his thing. He really likes doing it. I’m in the background. I wanna be the guy in the back.

“I think when I retire in a few years, I would be more open to doing whatever he wants to do, which is coming fast. You might see more of me in the future.”

Here’s a recent video in which they answered more questions about their relationship.

The men also recently started a joint Instagram account: @chrisandbret

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H/T: Bear World Magazine

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