The Beyond the Blinds Hosts Have Some Theories About Kate Middleton

Celebrity gossip is evergreen. From 18th-century scandal sheets to Y2K tabloids to Twitter hearsay, we’ve always been thirsty for tea on our faves. And now, the biggest craze in the rumor economy is the revival of the blind item. Also nothing new (they were originally invented as a form of blackmail), these anonymized anecdotes about Hollywood’s hottest are making major waves on TikTok as a new generation of haters clamor for the latest drama. Troy McEady and Kelli Williams’ podcast, Beyond the Blinds, is at the forefront. Currently racking up 164 episodes, it’s a version of the now-obsolete gossip column fit for the age of TikTok, where the pair presents the wildest blind items and speculates on which stars are the most “rotted,” from the Lacheys of Love is Blind fame to Diddy. And this spring, they’re bringing Beyond the Blinds IRL for a nationwide tour where they take their pop culture kikis to the main stage. For this week’s edition of Search History, Troy and Kelli accepted our DM request to give us a look into their sleuthy browser history, spill some award season goss, and speculate on the Duchess of Cambridge’s whereabouts. And as the disclaimer on their podcast goes, everything is alleged.

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INTERVIEW: A/S/L?

KELLI WILLIAMS: 32/F/Brooklyn.

TROY MCEADY: 35/M/Manhattan.

INTERVIEW: What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

WILLIAMS: Check my phone immediately.

MCEADY: Look at TikTok and crack open a La Croix.

INTERVIEW: What were your last three Google searches?

MCEADY: Movie times, the TikTok ban, and facts about What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

WILLIAMS: Wordle answer of the day, “How tall is Nick Lachey?,” Sophia Bush & Ashlyn Harris at the Oscars.

INTERVIEW: On that note, thoughts on the TikTok ban?

WILLIAMS: I think it’s unnecessary because US-based companies steal our info and everything too. I can see where people are coming with concerns for younger people and how they could potentially be exposed to negative images or whatever, but it just seems like there are bigger things going on in this country than TikTok.

MCEADY: The fact that this was the only thing those geriatrics could sit down and agree on is so telling and honestly quite appalling. I think higher-ups worry about the way information spreads on TikTok. Specifically information they don’t want out or feel they can’t control the narrative on.

INTERVIEW: Period. Who’s your ultimate celebrity crush?

WILLIAMS: Brittany Snow or JWoww… take that as you will 😂

MCEADY: A 2012 Rob Kardashian. I’d like zero follow up on that, please.

INTERVIEW: Describe your private browsing persona in 3 words.

WILLIAMS: Embarrassing, specifically curious.

MCEADY: Nosy, obsessive, and sleuthy.

INTERVIEW: Who’s the most meme-able celebrity? 

WILLIAMS: Emma Stone, especially during awards season.

WILLIAMS: Like, that’s art.

MCEADY: Trisha Paytas because she’s nonstop, walking performance art.

INTERVIEW: Speaking of which, what’s your favorite piece of award season tea this year?

WILLIAMS: That Meryl Streep & Martin Short are allegedly hooking up. I can’t stop thinking about it… I also can’t stop thinking about Ryan Gosling’s filler. Alleged filler, of course.

MCEADY: I’ve honestly just enjoyed watching how good Margot Robbie is at disassociating and smiling through literally everything, even Jo Koy.

INTERVIEW: Which celebrity’s Finsta would you like to follow?

MCEADY: Beyoncé.

WILLIAMS: You know, I think Jennifer Lawrence has a lot of fun online that we don’t know about! I need to see what she’s commenting on Bravo pages.

INTERVIEW: Okay real talk… where is Kate Middleton?

WILLIAMS: I think trying to figure out how to be a single mom because I feel like a divorce is coming. Because… how do you even divorce an almost-king?

INTERVIEW: She’s plotting.

MCEADY: At this point I’m just running with the idea that she’s getting an Insta-thot makeover and she’ll show up with an unexplained Larsa Pippen body.

INTERVIEW: Which of your podcast episodes got the most hate?

WILLIAMS: Oof, it really just depends on the fandom. The Ariana Grande episode we got some feedback about and recently—shockingly—how we talked about the Paul brothers.

MCEADY: Whenever we talk about anyone that has stans we pretty much know we’re in for it. People like Ariana, Nicki, etc.

INTERVIEW: Which celebrity are you dying to uncover some dirt about?

WILLIAMS: I feel like this may break the internet’s heart but Jacob Elordi.

MCEADY: Wendy Williams but only in the sense that I want to rescue her. I want her team exposed and I want her ex-husband to have to sit down and answer some questions/take some accountability.

INTERVIEW: What percent of blinds do you think are actually BS?

WILLIAMS: It’s hard because when they’re right, they’re RIGHT in a very big way! But I’d say probably more than half are BS.

MCEADY: I would say at least 40% of them are BS but I think it really depends where you’re getting them from. A lot of them are wildly silly.

INTERVIEW: What sources do you look to online?

WILLIAMS: I like to look at the blind and then do a quick google search of keywords or maybe hints from the blind to try and cross-check. I really like Lainey Gossip and Blind Gossip when it comes to just blind items though.

MCEADY: We love Blind Gossip and old blind columns from Ben Whitcomb of NY Daily News and Village Voice and stuff.

INTERVIEW: What’s your favorite celeb conspiracy theory rabbit hole?

WILLIAMS: It has to be that the royals killed Princess Diana or that the government killed JFK.

MCEADY: Probably anything Jackson family-related.

INTERVIEW: Where do you spend the most time online?

WILLIAMS: It’s definitely a tie between X and Instagram.

MCEADY: Absolutely TikTok.

INTERVIEW: What does your TikTok FYP look like?

WILLIAMS: A lot of cat shelter/TNR/pot roasts mom, boy band clips, and people with pop culture commentary (like Kyle Marisa, Fluently Forward, Jordy Cray).

MCEADY: Lots of fashion girlies (which is a blessing and a curse on that app) and early 2000’s stuff. TONS of Britney. Lots of mukbangs and cooking. And pop culture commentary, of course.

INTERVIEW: What’s an account everyone should follow?

WILLIAMS: Jake Shane, he’s hysterical. Anything of him acting things out kills me every time.

MCEADY: Alex Consani makes me laugh uncontrollably to the point that I can’t watch her unless I’m at home. Looking through her TikTok is like being in Pee Wee’s Playhouse but this one is special:

INTERVIEW: What do you think of DeuxMoi?

MCEADY: I think without DeuxMoi most people under 30 would have no idea what a blind item was and quite frankly wouldn’t care. Because a lot of the blind item sites feel very dated and early internet, I don’t even think they would know how to navigate them. DeuxMoi made blind items feel more attainable to modern culture, to the point that it’s not weird to hear them mentioned on Vanderpump Rules or something.

WILLIAMS: I think DeuxMoi probably became something the creator didn’t expect and I can imagine it’s all overwhelming. I like the Sunday Spotted but not a huge fan of their blinds because a lot of them seem planted.

INTERVIEW: If you could spend the day with one IG influencer, who would it be?

WILLIAMS: I would die to hang out with Sabrina Brier.

MCEADY: I hate to recycle an answer but I want to look through Trisha’s blinged cup cabinet. There’s so much there.

INTERVIEW: What was your AIM screen name?

WILLIAMS: I had so many screen names! The one that sticks out has to be my first which was BSBchick714. Or IrishElmo714. I think eventually it was just KelliW714 though.

MCEADY: TroyBoy2800 was one of them. and TroyStory2800 because I was doing a Toy Story thing.

INTERVIEW: Strangest DM you’ve received?

WILLIAMS: One time a follower DMed me to tell me they were pregnant because they weren’t ready to tell their family yet. I didn’t really get why I was the choice but happy I was able to provide some kind of safe space for the person, I guess. Typically I get nice or mean, not a ton of in between 😂

MCEADY: I had someone message me and ask for my home address so she could bring something to my apartment (I didn’t know her) and when I told her I didn’t feel comfortable she started asking me on other apps like the answer would change? So eventually I just stopped responding.

INTERVIEW: Ominous… Read receipts: on or off?

MCEADY: OFF always.

WILLIAMS: DMs: on. Texting: off. Not that texting matters because I typically respond within a second.

INTERVIEW: What’s your password?

WILLIAMS: If you were an email phishing me, I would totally fall for this.

MCEADY: My passwords are so unremarkable a child would guess most of them!