She was crying five minutes ago. Now she's doing her makeup for millions.

That's not content strategy. That's just Alix Earle. The 25-year-old TikTok phenomenon built an empire on being herself at moments most people would hide. Crying on camera. Talking through anxiety. Getting ready with a hangover. She doesn't filter the mess—she shares it.

Nearly 12 million followers. Forbes 30 Under 30. The ability to sell out any product she touches—the "Alix Earle effect." She's become Gen Z's most influential voice. But behind the hangover vlogs and "Get Ready With Me" videos is a clear psychological pattern.

And here's the thing: being genuinely open AND being good at presenting that openness aren't mutually exclusive. Alix isn't performing authenticity—she's authentic. But she also has a natural understanding of what resonates. That's not fake. That's a personality type.

What makes her different from thousands of other influencers? Why do millions of young women feel like she's their actual friend?

It comes down to what drives her.

TL;DR: Why Alix Earle is an Enneagram Type 3
  • Authentic Vulnerability: Alix shares her biggest struggles—acne, family scandal, mental health—openly. Type 3s naturally understand what resonates, so her willingness to be real becomes powerful connection. She's not calculating this; it's how her personality type processes being seen.
  • Relentless Achievement: From getting into her dream school through persistence, to building a scholarship at University of Miami, to briefly dethroning Joe Rogan on podcast charts—she measures success in concrete accomplishments.
  • The "It Girl" Image: She compares herself to Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl. The glamorous, fun, always-in-the-spotlight persona is classic Type 3 aspirational identity.
  • Performance Under Pressure: Dancing with the Stars, breakup with Braxton Berrios, podcast drama with Alex Cooper—she keeps performing and producing content through every crisis.
  • Adaptable Reinvention: From college party girl to business mogul to DWTS competitor, she pivots effortlessly while maintaining her core brand identity.
  • The 7 Wing: Her "queen of hangovers" persona, love of parties, and spontaneous energy reveal her Enthusiast wing—she's a Type 3 who succeeds by making achievement look fun.

What is Alix Earle's Personality Type?

Alix Earle is an Enneagram Type 3 (The Achiever)

Enneagram Type 3s are the Achievers. Driven by a core need to feel valuable, they measure self-worth through accomplishment and recognition. The childhood wound that creates a Type 3 usually involves learning that love and approval come through achievement rather than just existing.

Type 3s are chameleons. They read rooms, adapt their presentation, intuitively understand what will resonate. This isn't manipulation—it's survival instinct translated into social intelligence.

What makes Alix interesting is her 7 wing. This adds spontaneity, humor, and "I'm just here for a good time" energy that softens the achievement drive. She doesn't present as a ruthless climber. She presents as your fun friend who happens to be wildly successful.

Classic Type 3s tell you about their accomplishments. Alix shows you her acne, her hangover, her crying face—and walks away with more followers and brand deals than the polished competitors. That's 3w7 genius.

Why Type 3 and Not Type 7 or Type 2?

Fair question. Watch Alix party and you might see Type 7—the Enthusiast, fun-seeking, spontaneous, avoiding pain through pleasure. Watch her connect with fans and you might see Type 2—the Helper, wanting to be loved, people-pleasing.

But look closer.

Type 7s chase experiences to avoid uncomfortable emotions. Alix doesn't avoid her uncomfortable emotions—she posts about them. The hangover content isn't escapism; it's documentation. Type 7s move away from pain. Alix sits in her bathroom, mascara running, and talks through it.

Type 2s measure worth through being needed by specific people. Alix measures worth through achievement and recognition from everyone. She created a scholarship. She celebrates making lists. She tracks metrics. Type 2s give to bond; Alix gives to build. There's a difference.

The giveaway is what drives her. Not fun (7) or connection (2)—success. And not just any success: visible, recognized, validated success. That's the Type 3 core.

Growing Up in the Spotlight (Before She Chose It)

Alix Earle's first experience with media attention wasn't the viral TikTok kind.

When she was seven years old, paparazzi showed up at her family home in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Her father, Thomas "TJ" Earle, a construction magnate, had been exposed in an affair with Ashley Alexandra Dupré—the same escort at the center of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's political scandal.

"I remember the day very clearly. Paparazzi had shown up at my house, and my mom quickly kind of got me and my sister out of the house, over to our cousins. We stayed there for a few days, and I had no idea what was going on."

Her mother Alisa shielded young Alix from understanding what happened. This protective strategy shaped something important: Alix learned early that narratives can be controlled. The story people tell matters more than raw facts.

Her parents divorced in 2013. Her father married Dupré that same year. What could have been permanent family dysfunction became something Alix now describes as "very modern"—mom, dad, and stepmom all vacation together.

This reframing is pure Type 3. Where others see dysfunction, Alix sees a progressive family structure. Where others might hide the scandal, she discusses it on podcasts. The trauma becomes material. The mess becomes brand authenticity.

But the reframing wasn't instant. It took years—and required help from the people closest to her.

Her mom Alisa became her anchor. Watch Alix's content and you'll notice her mom shows up constantly. Not as a background character, but as an active presence. Alisa was the one who shielded young Alix during the scandal, and that protective bond translated into adult friendship. When Alix moved to Miami and later LA, her mom remained her emotional constant.

Her sister Ashtin is equally central. The two grew up navigating the same family upheaval together—same divorce, same scandal, same "very modern" family dynamics. Ashtin appears regularly in Alix's videos, and their sisterly dynamic has become part of the brand. There's shorthand between them that followers pick up on.

This family network matters psychologically. Type 3s often struggle with deep relationships because achievement takes precedence. But Alix built her career with her family embedded in the content. They're not separate from her success; they're woven into it.

She grew up wealthy in Wall Township, attended Red Bank Catholic High School, and stayed active in dance and sports—competitive, performance-oriented activities that would foreshadow her career.

From Miami Freshman to Fastest-Growing Creator

Alix wanted the University of Miami badly. When her initial application didn't go as planned, she did something characteristically Type 3: she persistently reached out to admissions until she achieved her goal.

"I wanted to do this so badly that I was willing to give up my friends, my home, and my school."

Once there, she faced the Type 3's eternal challenge: balancing social opportunities with academic achievement. As a marketing major, she was already thinking strategically about influence. She managed social media for a clothing boutique back in New Jersey—not for money, but for experience.

In February 2020, as a freshman, she posted her first TikTok. Her friends showing off outfits made from trash bags. Nothing special. Just college kids being college kids.

The breakthrough came in summer 2022, through vulnerability.

Alix was dealing with severe acne from a facial cyst. When her manager pushed her to post a sponsored video, she initially refused—afraid to show her skin. But then she made a different choice.

She posted anyway. And talked about it.

"I could use my platform to help others struggling with the same issue."

The response was overwhelming. Supportive. Connecting.

In one month during her senior year, she gained almost 3 million TikTok followers. She graduated in May 2023 with a marketing degree and used her success to create the Alix Earle Scholarship for students at Miami Herbert Business School.

The Alix Earle Effect: How Authenticity Became Her Superpower

What set Alix apart wasn't blonde hair or glowing skin. It was her willingness to talk about real things in an era of curated perfection.

Dating mishaps. Mental health struggles. The chaos of hangovers. Partying until sunrise.

But it's not just what she shares—it's how she shares it.

Her Get Ready With Me videos don't look like other influencers'. No ring lights. No carefully curated backgrounds. She sits on her bathroom floor in harsh lighting, rambling through stories while doing her makeup. It feels like FaceTiming your best friend who's getting ready to go out.

This format is psychological genius. Most influencers create distance through production value. Alix creates intimacy through the absence of it. You're not watching a performance; you're hanging out with her while she gets ready. The one-sided nature of social media disappears.

That's how millions of people feel like they actually know her.

"I was trying to be picture perfect. I thought that was the way to go."

That strategy failed. The pivot to radical openness succeeded.

She calls herself "the queen of hangovers." She went out every night except Monday during college. She posts about vomiting on her dresses. Somehow, this makes brands want to work with her more.

The "Alix Earle effect" became industry shorthand for her ability to sell out any product. When she mentions a lip gloss, it disappears. When she wears a dress, the brand's website crashes.

This isn't despite her messiness—it's because of it.

Type 3s typically present polished versions of themselves—think Taylor Swift's carefully crafted eras or Kim Kardashian's curated glamour. Alix broke the mold. She's real about the chaos.

This isn't a strategy she reverse-engineered. When critics accuse her of being "calculated," she pushes back. She treats her platforms "like an online diary," posting without much planning. The spontaneity is genuine.

But—and this is important—Type 3s have a natural instinct for what works. They read audiences. They sense what resonates. Alix didn't sit down and decide "I'll be relatable." She was herself, and her personality type made that self naturally compelling. She's "intentional, strategic, and consistent"—but that's discipline, not manipulation.

Her vulnerability is real. Her mess is real. And her Type 3 wiring means she knows how to share it in ways that connect. Both things are true.

Dancing With the Stars: The Type 3 on Full Display

In 2025, Alix joined Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. For a Type 3, this was perfect territory: a visible, competitive, achievement-based platform where improvement could be measured week by week.

Partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, she became one of the season's most improved dancers. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli praised her growth. Her performances consistently earned among the highest scores.

The emotional peak came on Dedication Night, when she performed a contemporary dance with her 12-year-old half-sister Izabel. The performance scored 35 out of 40, with fans insisting she deserved higher.

In the finale, she and Val earned perfect 30s on all their dances. They finished in second place behind Robert Irwin and Witney Carson.

"This Dancing With the Stars journey really just has changed my life. I am gonna come out of this such a different person than I was going in."

This is the Type 3 in integration mode—using achievement not just for recognition, but for genuine personal growth.

Navigating Controversy: The Type 3 Under Fire

Success at Alix's level attracts scrutiny. In 2024, she faced her most serious public crisis.

Screenshots surfaced from her old ask.fm account showing her using a racial slur in 2014. She was 13 at the time.

"I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word."

The apology was direct but the fallout complicated. Allegations emerged that her legal team attempted to trademark the screenshots to prevent their spread—claims she called "absolutely ridiculous and untrue."

Around the same time, she filed a lawsuit against Gymshark for allegedly dropping an influencer deal due to her "perceived stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict" after she posted a pro-Israel comment. The case settled out of court in January 2025.

In 2023, she'd been photographed partying with Ivanka Trump at Art Basel, sparking criticism from fans who assumed political alignment.

Each controversy followed a pattern: initial silence, then measured response, then pivot back to regular content. The Type 3's crisis management playbook.

She doesn't let criticism spiral into identity crisis. She addresses, adapts, and continues performing. The show must go on.

Love, Loss, and the Long-Distance Challenge

Alix's relationship with NFL wide receiver Braxton Berrios became public in 2023. They met at a Miami party in February, and by the summer, they were making red carpet appearances together at the ESPYs.

The relationship had controversy from the start. Berrios's ex, Sophia Culpo, suggested there was "betrayal" involved. Alix and Braxton denied any overlap.

For nearly two years, they were TikTok's favorite NFL couple. Alix attended games, Braxton appeared in her content, and they fostered rescue dogs together.

Then came the long-distance reality.

When Alix relocated to Los Angeles for Dancing with the Stars while Braxton traveled with the Houston Texans, the relationship cracked under the distance.

"Braxton and I are no longer together. We have been doing long distance since, basically, June and we haven't gotten to see each other that often. It's just been really difficult for me."

Her tearful TikTok announcing the split was classic Alix: vulnerable, direct, authentic. She cried on camera. She shared her pain. And then she kept dancing, kept competing, kept performing.

A source confirmed the split was mutual: "Majority of their relationship was long-distance and it was hard for them to navigate."

The Hot Mess with Alex Cooper

In September 2023, Alix launched her podcast "Hot Mess with Alix Earle" under Alex Cooper's Unwell Network. Upon debut, it briefly dethroned The Joe Rogan Experience from the top spot on Spotify's podcast charts—a position Rogan had held for two years.

The partnership seemed perfect. Alex Cooper, the "Call Her Daddy" host, had built a podcasting empire. Alix brought the Gen Z audience. They collaborated on content and promoted each other's work.

Then things shifted.

By early 2025, fans noticed the two weren't appearing on each other's content. Alix skipped an Unwell Super Bowl party in New Orleans despite being in town. The social media sleuthing intensified.

In February 2025, reports confirmed: "Hot Mess" had been dropped from the Unwell Network.

"This week has been like, meh. Obviously, there's been a lot of chatter online this week about me and work. And I also have no idea what's going on."

Alex Cooper denied any connection to Alix's subsequent podcasting hiatus, stating "Alix not being able to podcast has nothing to do with Unwell."

Alix announced she was taking a break from podcasting "for the foreseeable future" to focus on her YouTube channel.

But the Type 3 doesn't stay down long. By late 2025, she was signaling a return: "We have plans to bring things back, elevate things. It might look a little different, but I'm excited to see what we do with it."

New Year, New Headlines: The Tom Brady Connection

Just weeks after announcing her breakup from Braxton Berrios, Alix Earle rang in 2026 on the island of St. Barths. Her New Year's Eve companion? Tom Brady.

Video footage from TMZ showed Earle caressing Brady's back as they leaned close and whispered at a Palm Tree Crew party. Sources told media outlets they were "together the entire night" and "had a lot of chemistry."

The 23-year age gap (she's 25, he's 48) became immediate tabloid fodder. Brady appeared cautious about being seen publicly but reportedly "didn't want to leave her side."

Alix posted cryptically on Instagram: "Rumor has it we're still dancing. New friends, new memories, and new beginnings to start off the new year :)"

Brady responded to the media attention by posting a Lil Wayne lyric on his Instagram story: "People are not beautiful for how they look or speak. They're beautiful for how they love, care and treat others."

Whether this becomes a relationship or remains a New Year's Eve moment, it shows Alix's continued pull. A decade ago, she was learning about public attention when paparazzi chased her family's scandal. Now she generates headlines just by appearing at a party.

TIME100 and the Alix Earle Empire

In July 2025, Alix was named to the inaugural TIME100 Creators list—recognition of her as one of the 100 most influential digital creators in the world.

She joined names like Kai Cenat, Jay Shetty, and her former collaborator Alex Cooper on a list celebrating the new landscape of media influence.

Forbes had already recognized her in their 30 Under 30 list in 2023. Their 2025 Top Creators ranking revealed she banked $8 million in the lifestyle and beauty space alone.

Beyond content creation, she's diversified: invested in the beverage brand SipMargs, launched her scholarship at Miami, and built a business infrastructure around her personal brand.

"Consistency and staying true to yourself are key."

That's her advice to aspiring creators. It sounds simple. But consistency while navigating breakups, controversies, and business drama? That's the Type 3 discipline hiding behind the chaotic persona.

The Psychology of Alix Earle

When asked what fictional universe she'd want to live in, Alix immediately named "Gossip Girl" and identified with Serena van der Woodsen.

"A lot of people always call me Serena van der Woodsen. She's very fun, besides the part where she's just not a good friend."

This self-assessment is revealing. Serena is the It Girl—glamorous, magnetic, always at the center of drama she doesn't quite control. But Alix's caveat about friendship suggests self-awareness about the Type 3's relational challenges.

She's spoken openly about her mental health struggles—not in passing, but in depth.

On her podcast, she dedicated a full episode to her history with eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Not a social media caption. Not a quick mention. A deep dive into how she thought about her body, the behaviors she developed, and how it affected her daily life. That's unusual for influencers who often reference mental health without getting specific.

She's disclosed using Lexapro for anxiety she's had since high school. Again, she didn't just mention it—she explained what anxiety actually feels like for her. The racing thoughts. The physical symptoms. The way it intersects with a career built on constant public attention.

"No matter what you do, not everyone is going to agree with you, or people may have something negative to say. You just have to stay true to yourself and not let little comments get to you."

This sounds simple. It's not. For a Type 3 whose core fear is being worthless without external validation, every negative comment hits differently. Alix has had to build genuine internal walls while appearing completely open. She shows you the anxiety; she doesn't show you how hard it is to manage millions of opinions about your body, face, and choices.

That's real psychological work, done in public.

She also emphasizes lifting others up: "I always want to uplift other creators and support them, and help them in any way I can... I just want to support everyone and lift them up, and do what other creators did for me when I was starting out."

This is the healthy Type 3 moving toward integration—finding identity beyond personal achievement through supporting others.

What Alix Earle Teaches Us About Success

Alix didn't invent the influencer playbook. She perfected a version the previous generation couldn't have imagined.

What we can learn from her:

  • Vulnerability as connection: Don't hide your flaws; share them when you're comfortable
  • Chaos as relatable: Your mess isn't embarrassing—it's human
  • Achievement as natural: Success doesn't have to look painful or polished
  • Adaptation as survival: Pivot when you need to, without losing yourself

The Type 3's core fear is being worthless without achievement. Alix built an empire that makes achievement look like authenticity and authenticity look like fun.

At 25, she's navigated family scandal, a breakup watched by millions, business drama with powerful partners, and controversies that could have ended other careers. She keeps showing up. Keeps posting. Keeps winning.

"Where I go, my audience goes."

That's not arrogance. That's Type 3 confidence in her ability to read and lead her audience.

Her secret weapon? Storytelling. Not the polished kind. The "I was crying five minutes ago but let's do our makeup" kind.

She invites followers into emotional whiplash with humor and vulnerability. She shares her life in a way that feels like a best friend's group chat—unfiltered, unscripted, real. Millions of people feel like they know her because she lets them.

What would it feel like to let people see your real struggles? To find out that the things you want to hide are actually what make you relatable? To build an empire on being exactly who you are?

Alix Earle figured it out. And she's just getting started.

Disclaimer: This analysis of Alix Earle's Enneagram type is speculative, based on publicly available information, and may not reflect her actual personality type.