Valkyrae's ex-boyfriend SONII calls relationship ‘toxic on both sides’ amid ‘disturbing’ controversy

Michael “SONII,” ex-boyfriend of YouTube star Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, recently spoke out about their past relationship, calling it “toxic on both sides” after a “disturbing” incident aired on the ‘Press ESC’ podcast. The podcast host, Lisa “Alythuh,” confessed to making a voodoo doll of SONII, prompting him to address the situation publicly for the first time in three years.

The former couple dated from 2016 to 2021, and although Valkyrae never explicitly mentioned SONII in her discussions, she expressed regret about being in a relationship where she felt “judged and compared” on the ‘100 Thieves Cast’ in 2022. This led some fans to infer she was referring to SONII, a fitness influencer.

Responding to Alythuh’s remarks, SONII took to X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I haven’t spoken to you since the day we split 3 years ago. But this is really disturbing and warrants my first message to you, Valkyrae.” He further added, “Our relationship was toxic on both sides… but nobody ever cheated or was physically abusive.”

SONII expressed concern that Valkyrae’s social media actions could be part of her “attempt to heal from our toxic past,” but noted, “this has been going on for a while… to use this platform to spread more hate because of the private struggles we shared is not something I’d expect from you.” He concluded with a wish for closure, “Truly hope we can be above the direction in which things are currently going.”

Valkyrae responded on her livestream, denying the claims and noting that she had left communication open, stating, “I never blocked him… he had all the means to contact me.” Following the backlash, SONII eventually deleted his post.