Haliey ‘Hawk Tuah’ Welch Introduces Boyfriend ‘Pookie’ to the World

Haliey Welch, a.k.a. “Hawk Tuah” Girl, is finally ready to reveal to the world who “Pookie” is.

After months of speculation, the 22-year-old viral sensation finally introduced her boyfriend, whose real name is Kelby Blackwell, on Tuesday’s episode of her Talk Tuah podcast.

Welch mentioned that she was in a situationship with Blackwell, then known as “Pookie,” in the infamous “Hawk Tuah” video that turned her into an overnight internet star in June. But at the time, she opted not to share too many details about him.

“I didn't really know what to say. I just know that I woke up one morning to a Snapchat from you that said, ‘You're going to see something this morning that you probably don't want to see, just disregard it,’” said Blackwell at the 10:54 mark in the video linked above. “And then I opened up my TikTok, and there it was all over the place,” Blackwell explained.

Blackwell, who works as a plumber, took an opportunity to clarify the timeline of their relationship in the episode. He explained that he and Welch started “hooking up” last year but there was one hurdle he needed to overcome before he could fully commit.

“I was actually in a relationship for right around two and a half years. Nobody knows that, of course, cuz Haliey did not bring that up. So everybody just thinks I'm a sorry sack of shit,” he said. “We broke up I think last March, and it was just kind of like a dirty breakup. So the last couple months after that before I started actually like considering Haliey—I was more working on myself and working on like being able to bring her what she needed for herself, to where I didn't want to bring the hurt on to her.”

“After I figured that out, I was like, ‘Okay, well fair enough.’ But I'm also an impatient bitch and when I want something I want something like right then and there,” said Welch.

Despite some people believing that Blackwell only went public because of Welch’s sudden fame, he told the internet that they can "believe what you want.”

“At the end of the day, I know what I feel in my heart and that I love Haliey. So that's just that,” he said.

Watch the full Talk Tuah episode up top.