Why TikTok Star Charli D’Amelio Allegedly Cut Ties With Her Parents

Charli D’Amelio has reportedly severed ties with her parents and sister after her meteoric rise to fame came at a deeply personal cost.

The TikTok star is the daughter of Marc and Heidi D’Amelio, who also welcomed Dixie, her older sister and fellow influencer.

Reports claim Charli D’Amelio made the move as she was “treated as a cash cow,” and in the process was “aggressively sexualised” and hated online.

After years of dominating TikTok alongside her family, Charli D’Amelio and the rest of the D’Amelios are reportedly now at odds, with tensions said to have been simmering behind the scenes for quite some time.

Charli rose to global fame by posting short dance routines and lip-sync videos that quickly racked up millions of views, particularly during the COVID lockdowns.

With that explosive success came a flood of brand deals and endorsements that generated millions for her and transformed the lives of the entire family almost overnight.

But beneath the glossy exterior, insiders claim Charli was growing increasingly unhappy,  with her parents, Marc and Heidi, reportedly at the center of that unhappiness.

“They seemed really toxic and pushed her to work so much,” a source told the Daily Mail‘s Molly Clayton.

“Her parents treated her like a cash cow. This is a teenager who was taken advantage of, for money, by her already rich parents, leaving her aggressively sexualised and massively hated online for having the maturity of a teenager,” they added.

In the early days, any signs that Charli was overwhelmed were carefully concealed. The family worked hard to project a wholesome public image, while Charli’s TikTok edits remained upbeat, polished, and relentlessly glossy.

That façade began to crack when the family opened their lives to cameras for “The D’Amelio Show,” where Charli was frequently shown grappling with a range of difficult emotions.

On some occasions, she couldn’t help but voice those feelings, moments that were often followed by sobs.

“I am physically and mentally exhausted. It’s work, it’s my personal life, it’s negative comments, it’s school, it’s content I make for myself, it’s deliverables, it’s meetings, it’s interviews, it’s everything,” Charli once said on the show.

It also didn’t help that, at the time, the then-teenager felt she was responsible for so many people, an immense burden at such a young age.

“If I wanted to quit,” the TikTok star said, “now they [her family] don’t have a job. It’s a lot to put on one person.”

Despite Charli’s emotional displays on the show that clearly hinted at how much she was struggling, her parents reportedly did not see them as a signal to course-correct.

Instead, insiders claim they were blinded by money and driven by an alleged goal of one day reaching, or even surpassing, the level of fame achieved by the Kardashians.

“Ironically, they thought that the reality show was the right thing to do, but it showed a lot of issues the family have, and [their parents] are extremely fame-hungry,” an insider shared.

The source further remarked, “They were constantly trying to force Charli to do things she didn’t want to simply because it would bring in more money and fame. They honestly seemed way more desperate for fame and attention than Charli ever was, and it was them trying to push themselves as the next Kardashians.”

Signs that Charli is keeping her distance from her family are evident in her recent habits.

For one, she has stopped posting alongside her sister Dixie, who also rose to influencer fame following Charli’s success.

The 21-year-old, who is now focused on Broadway and more traditional creative pursuits, has also stepped back from promoting family ventures on her social media. As a result, the family reportedly reacted by choosing not to “support” her in pursuing her own dreams.

“She stopped wanting to promote the family business and chase her own dreams,” said another insider about Charli. “She stopped promoting their popcorn, shoes, and everything else. So much so, they decided to fully stop supporting her.”

Without her family’s support, Charli appears to be thriving nonetheless, and according to a source, she doesn’t regret choosing herself.

“She seems so happy doing what she’s doing now,” said the insider. “If disconnecting from her family and LA is what she felt she needed to do, then good for her.”

They continued, “[Charli’s] parents and their management team used her in so many ways that I’m sure she’s now beginning to understand.”