Why I Became More Private: Shea Marie on Her Engagement, Past Failures & Internet Backlash

In this episode of Not Alone, Valeria sits down with one of the original social media influencers and SAME founder & CEO Shea Marie, for a candid conversation about evolution, personally, publicly, and professionally. Shea opens up about entering a new season of life, from ringing in the New Year in Aspen and sharing her engagement story to navigating what it really means to keep a relationship both public and protected. Together, they talk about dating in the spotlight, why Shea has intentionally chosen to share less online, and how her relationship with the internet has changed over time. Shea reflects on her early move to LA, her first tough job in PR, and the lessons that ultimately led her to start blogging at a time when influencers weren’t taken seriously. She dives into the realities of being an OG in the space, from doing unpaid campaigns and being underestimated, to learning how to separate herself as a creator from the brand she built. Shea also talks about the journey of building and scaling SAME, what the future holds for the brand, and the one belief she had to unlearn along the way. This episode is about growth, boundaries, and building something that lasts. Follow Shea Marie on Social Media Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheamarie/?hl=en TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sheamarieofficial?lang=en Shop SAME: https://www.samelosangeles.com/collections/shop-all Shop my look from this episode: https://shopmy.us/collections/3622996?tab=collections Follow me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valerialipovetsky/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@valeria.lipovetsky?lang=en Not Alone TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notalone.pod?lang=en What we talked about: 0:29 - Valeria’s 2026 energy 2:53 - Introducing Shea Marie 3:52 - Start of interview 4:29 - Shae’s New Year’s in Aspen 7:07 - Engagement story 8:13 - Making your relationship public vs private 11:05 - Dating as a public figure 12:45 - The shift to sharing less online 18:15 - Her move to LA and terrible first job 19:50 - Lessons learned from PR job 20:45 - Starting her blog 24:00 - No respect for early-day influencers 24:55 - Separating the influencer from the brand 27:27 - Creating SAME 29:15 - Highs and lows as an OG influencer 32:53 - Doing a free campaign for Forever21 35:55 - Running and growing a brand 40:47 - The future of SAME 44:01 - One belief she had to unlearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices