The internet has a new obsession. Whip Storm and Poe Yates steal the title for Most Bizarre Celebrity Couple - yep, they've officially surpassed even the likes of Genes and Elon Musk - after their very different corners of the world colided when the duo went public with their relationship in the summer of 2018. At first glance, they couldn't be more different. Whip Storm hails from Hollywood royalty, the son of Alexander Storm and frontman of indie sensation Young Bloods, whereas Poe Yates is from a sleepy Cornish town in England and the son of two university professors. His YouTube channel has amassed a couple of million followers and features everything from mini-documentaries to cooking lessons, but it's the daily vlogs where fans have really got to know the relationship between the two men.

And what a refreshing relationship it is. Though Yates' sexuality was the subject of much specualation in the YouTube fandom, he'd never publicly acknowledged any partner or preference until an upload in July 2018, which has since garnered over ten million views. The aptly titled 'Sexuality Struggles' captured the intimate moment of a young man finally understanding himself and professing love all at the same time. In the video, Yates' now fated words are "I know you'll all be wanting to know who this person is but [...] we're not together or anything [...] unfortunately because of real life issues I guess - we have an expiry date. And that's okay". More than two months later, that expiry date has been cast aside and the two are very openly, very proudly, and very lovingly together.

The older, seemingly more self-assured and publicly (but quietly) bisexual Whip Storm is a father of one who is almost as notorious for his trysts with famous Hollywood actresses as he is for his music. Impossibly handsome and All American, he was the picture perfect arm candy for Hollywood A-Listers Hannah Anderson and Lo Sinclair during their respective Oscar seasons (reminder: they both won). What we didn't expect was to see him on the arm of someone like Yates - we knew he was bisexual, it was no carefully guarded secret, but the ease at which he navigated a heteronormative life meant that nobody really took the idea of him with another man seriously.

Until this summer, when we realized, hey - our bad. Poe acknowledges himself as Whip's first same sex relationship, and the dynamic between the two strikes a chord between fraternal and loving. It isn't hard to see why a new sect of overwhelmingly enthusiastic fans of the relationship have emerged (just a quick browse of their Tumblr tag shows edited photographs that are both explicit and sweet), nor why an appreciation has been building for perhaps the first mainstream, openly bisexual same sex couple. After their photoshoot, where they play with each other's hair during breaks in the sort of easy affection so often unseen between two people in the public eye, they sat down to talk to interviewer Brent Michaels about their love, their story, and their struggles.

How did you both meet?

Poe: So, I won't lie, it's a crazy story. We were actually camping separately, both alone, I was making a mini-documentary series for my YouTube channel - it's called Weird and Wonderful World, and I'm still going with it when I can, but needless to say this one has derailed the plans slightly. So anyway, we're camping alone in the middle of the woods, and I stumble across his tent... and get this: he basically tells me to fuck off.

Whip: I don't necessarily think it needs to be detailed to excess, but we met in a moment of pure cosmic synergy. I really think, you know, we don't share a belief system but I think Mother Earth herself brought us together. Ushered us forth with an act of mystery. There's nothing more binding on this planet than shared trauma, shared wonder. And we had a little of both. So it was that.

Poe: Right. It was that. You can actually go back and watch the video on my channel from that day if you want, it tells a little more of the story, but Whip's summed it up pretty nicely.

Was it lust or love at first sight?

Whip: Love at first sight, even conceptually, undermines the slow creeping intensity of the way a real and honest love grows. I hate it. I hate hearing people talk about it in that fucking schmaltzy way, "I saw him from across a crowded room and it was love at first sight." Nah, no, it wasn't. Love at first sight is very nearly always lust painted up to sound poetic or more powerful, but there's a power in lust that's often ignored because people are afraid of addressing their own sexuality, like it's something dirty. So it was lust, sure. It was lust and then it was lust and lust and lust and one morning I woke up and it was love.

Poe: Yeah, I'd never even been in love before so I wouldn't have known what that was supposed to feel like. For me it was definitely lust. I mean, look at him. Just... look at him, who doesn't fall in love with that face the minute they see it? He's beautiful. [laughs] But love followed really quickly, it didn't take me long at all. And it was my first experience of it, so it was really exciting.

There's obviously a fairly big age gap between the two of you, was that ever cause for hesitation?

Poe: Not on my part. I think the thing is, Whip and I have discussed this before, the way I was raised was pretty unconventional. My parents were both professors at Cambridge university, which is a fairly big journey from our home base in Cornwall. Every week we'd do the train journey up, stay overnight in Cambridge for a few nights, then back down to Cornwall. And not only that, but they'd take their groups of students on expeditions, and they'd attend digs on behalf of the government or their other professional bodies too, and obviously they wanted to take me with them. So my mum, she actually home schooled me until I was 8 and then my dad took over until I was 12. And that whole time, I didn't have many friends my own age but I was raised with a lot of young adults, a lot of their colleagues, and I just kind of adapted to interaction with older people. Now I'm not saying that I have to do any kind of adaption with the way I am with Whip, eveything came really naturally to us, but I do think the exposure I had to people older than me in general just meant that I wasn't even phased when I realised he was in his mid-thirties. I'm also not claiming to be mature for my age... I don't think I am, I'm just good at adapting.

Whip: He sounded pretty fucking young just now, huh? Cute. A cute kid.

Poe: Shut up.

What about the reaction of the people around you, how did you find that? Any negativity?

Whip: I don't allow negative energy into my life. The people in my life, they're my kindred. And so is Poe, he's my kin, and in being mine, he's theirs. It's a tidy little circle of being where they'd be fools not to accept him warmly. And I was already out, so that didn't trouble me. Poe not being out, well, how did you find it, that brief state of stasis?

Poe: It was weird. I mean, I never really wanted to be closeted but I also had a lot of my own figuring out to do, I wasn't sure if I was straight with an appreciation for men, gay with an appreciation for women, or straight up bisexual. And I know now, thanks to Whip, he helped me figure it out. Because he's never asked me or expected me to be anything other than what I am, he's never shamed me or pressured me into putting a label onto myself... I also think it massively, massively helps that he's bisexual too - right, Whip?

Whip: Closeted, out, it's really - I never perceived of him that way. I was proud of his video. It felt like a lovely thing for young people to see, this idol of sorts coming to them and saying "here's who I am, and that's all there is to it," and really... I understand the ache for others of being - of not feeling accepted by one's family and friends, but I know Poe had the opposite experience to that and it's sorta nice to see. To hear from someone, not necessarily a very sad story with a requisite of a moment's silence but just, here it is. Here's who I am, here's how it went. It felt like a moment from the future to indulge in that sort of acceptance.

Poe: Yeah, I'm really lucky. My dad didn't give a shit, my friends didn't give a shit. Not in any negative way at least. I've been really free of any trauma associated with coming out and I know how unique that position is, but it also gives me faith that more kids will find themselves in the same position as we continue to move forward as a more accepting society.

Bisexual representation is so lacking in the media, and I think that's what's so unique about your relationship, and perhaps why public interest has been so strong. Has that taken you aback at all?

Poe: Oh man, absolutely! I can't believe you even want us to be on your cover!

Whip: Interest? Has the interest taken us aback? I mean, yeah, I don't understand the cover either. We're mostly here because we're handsome, aren't we? I've never even read this fucking magazine, to be honest with you in this space. But being two attractive, affluent white guys with various connections to a more tangible fame is probably the real answer. The bulk of the public interest I've personally experienced, and I can't really speak for Poe because he connects further with his sect of followers, is just - women creating pornographic art in which we star and tagging us in it until I have to block them on social media. I don't feel like a beacon of bisexual representation, I don't even - Poe had to talk me into this. But I do think it's significant to be allowed to say "hello, I like both and all" without someone leering from a distance to insist I'm actually straight or I'm actually gay. I get that a lot. A lot of "wow, I can't believe he likes guys too" which is wholly demented.

Poe: It's so ridiculous, when people look at a very masculine guy like Whip and think it's crazy that he's bisexual or that he wants to be with a guy. I have a real issue with toxic masculinity and I think that's what it comes down too, like it compromises your masculinity or manlihood some how if you go to bed with people the same sex as you. But it's nice, anyway, that we're both comfortable with our bisexuality and it's amazing that we get to be that beacon of representation that feels like it's been missing.

Have you had to deal with any negative stigma associated with your bisexuality from relationships in the past?

Poe: I've never had any previous relationships but of course, there's a whole group of people who just assume dating a man means I'm gay. Even though I've come out as bisexual, there wouldn't be much point in lying at that point, but yeah. The ignorance is pretty astounding. It's like people think when you say bisexual, you just can't make up your mind or you're trying to find this halfway safehouse between being coming out but not admitting that you're actually gay. For the record, I wouldn't have a problem at all in coming out as gay, I'm lucky to have really supportive friends and family who wouldn't hesitate in accepting me. But I'm not.

Whip: Kitten's so articulate.

So Poe, was it intimidating to join Whip's roster of high profile relationships?

Whip: That's a horrible question.

Poe: [laughing] I mean - I don't think anyone is going to compare my fame level to the exposure he's had with his exes, for sure, but I've never felt intimidated by it. I think the thing is, with our relationship as strong as it is, I know it's pointless to get worried that he might be missing something else. Whip's never made me feel like I have any expectations to live up to. Plus I'm the first guy he's been with, so it's a first for both of us, in a way.

Whip, is there a reason you've never dated a man before? Has it just never happened or do you feel you have a preference for women?

Whip: I like your jacket. Is that vintage? I don't really feel the need to speak on this. Let the records show the journalist was wearing a smart velvet jacket in a curious shade of puce. Fall is upon us. I know fuck all about fashion. Next question.

You're obviously in very different industries, too, though both in the public eye and both with a strong fanbase. Has that caused you any issues?

Poe: My fanbase are very accepting of us. I've had a bunch of art sent through, really sweet drawings and paintings of the two of us, but it's a bizarre feeling to have all that attention. I guess to an extent I've experienced the same thing with Alice [Polly] but it's different because obviously we weren't actually together, so it's all very fantasy based. But I'm lucky, I had a horrible paranoia that coming out as bisexual would cause a dip in my subscribers or make people lose interest, but honestly if anything people are more supportive of me than ever before.

Whip: His fanbase is far more invested in the mere shining light of his existence than mine is. Young Bloods fans are fans of the band, fans of the music, I don't really think of them as fans of me as a human being and I don't think they perceive themselves in that way either. So it hasn't caused any stir amongst them, not that I know of. I'm really more absorbing Poe's fanbase as it is. Slowly crawling over them like the Cthulhu as they recoil with fear. I'm learning new words, new concepts. Fanfiction. Fan art.

So what about off camera, behind the scenes, has that been an adjustment? Are you still carrying out the relationship on a long distance basis?

Poe: Nope, we've been living together for a while now. It was kind of unofficial at first - I guess to an extent it still is? Because I haven't shipped over my things yet, but eventually I will. He actually... do you want to tell the story about what you did for me, with the garden?

Whip: Let's not. Is it really unofficial just because you haven't got your blender here yet? It's official. It's been official. It's very legally official.

Poe: Right, legally official, just not blender official. Going from being a farm boy to living in a city has been an adjustment. But he's worth it. And I still travel, just recently I was off in Africa while he stayed home with his daughter, there's never any restrictions in place. But I do miss him when I'm gone, I miss both of them. It's nicer to be with them.

Whip: He's a wanderer, and I'm more stabilized in one locale when I'm not on tour. The pining makes for visceral dreams, and dreams make for good writing.

Whip, you have a daughter. Were you ever nervous about her meeting Poe? Do you have any advice for people wanting to introduce a same sex partner to their children?

Whip: Nah. I'm not really a heartfelt parental advice sorta guy. I don't believe in it. Parents should do what they feel is right, when they feel it's right. Trust your intuition. Children are naturally inquisitive, deeply perceptive. Let your kid guide you in sharing your truth.

Poe, did you hesitate when you realised Whip had children already? What's that like for you, especially being so young?

Poe: I won't lie, I did hesitate. That's actually the reason we skirted around becoming official for a while, or taking what was happening between us seriously. He kind of assumed I wouldn't want to be involved in family life, I kind of assumed he wouldn't want me to be. But we made it work and my relationship with Daisy is great, I adore her, so I'm just glad we didn't let it stop us from being together.

What are your plans for the future, is there marriage on the cards? More kids?

Poe: Wow, what a question!

Whip: We could all be dead tomorrow, Brent.

Poe: We're not ruling anything out, but it's not something we're even actively thinking about right now. We're just enjoying our life as it is, we're happy, there's nothing missing.