Burned-out China influencer duo with 15 million fans, quit after 1,000 live-streams in five years
A burned-out influencer couple in China with 15 million fans online have decided to quit after 1,000 live-streams over a five-year period. -- Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/Xinhua
BEIJING (SCMP): A Chinese couple with 15 million online followers have announced they are quitting live-streaming due to burnout after 1,000 appearances over five years.
The couple in southwestern China's Sichuan province, who use the handle @caihongfufu, announced on April 20 that they decided to quit live-streaming until they figure out how to 'balance work and life'.
The wife, Sun Caihong, said they were burned out from 'endless' live-streaming sessions, each of which lasted more than eight hours.
She said she had no time to keep her family company, and no time to treat damage to her vocal cords.
Guo Bin and his wife Sun Caihong say constant live-streaming has left them exhausted. -- Photo: Baidu
Sun said she never stopped working, even while she was giving birth to four children over the past five years.
The 35-year-old said she had told her team to stop arranging new live-streams, and would learn to rest and enjoy life together with her 32-year-old husband, Guo Bin.
The couple worked in insurance sales before they became influencers.
In 2020, they began sharing their love story on social media, attracting 3 million followers in a year.
They set up their own company and began selling daily necessities online.
In a 2022 video, they revealed that they could generate a sales volume of 230 million yuan (US$32 million) and earn four million yuan in a single day.
The couple said they used to live in an eight-square-metre rented room while making a living doing part-time jobs.
The couple were married in 2018 and have had four children together. -- Photo: Baidu
They made an annual income of one million yuan (US$140,000) selling insurance and bought their first flat and car.
They got married in 2018, and thanks to their success at live-streaming sales, they bought a 260-square-metre flat worth six million yuan, and invited their parents and siblings, who were migrant workers, to live with them and help them run their business.
Sun gave birth to three boys and a girl between 2019 and 2024 to fulfil her husband's wish to have a daughter.
The couple said they worked hard to seize the opportunity they had, but later realised they should not be greedy.
'We were from the underclass. We should be content with what we have already earned,' they said.
The couple said they would spend more time with each other and their family and restart live-streaming after figuring out how to work without burning themselves out.
'They have made enough money,' one online observer said of the couple's situation.
'It is wise to stop when you feel it is enough. It is a simple truth that many do not see,' said another. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
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