Alex Cooper rose to popularity thanks to the Call Her Daddy podcast. But the influencer's road to internet fame wasn't simple. From drama with her business partner to feuding with Sway House and a fling with Logan Paul, this is Cooper's untold truth.
A 90's Baby
Meet Alexandra Cooper, best known as the host of the popular podcast Call Her Daddy. But before the now 26-year-old was making headlines for drama with Barstool Sports and even TikTok influencers, she was a small-town girl.
Alex was born on August 21, 1994, and grew up in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her parents, Bryan and Laurie Cooper, along with two siblings, sister Kathryn and brother Grant. But it didn't take long for Alex to find a way out of her familiar hometown.
She Was a Division 1 Athlete
Alex attended Pennington High School in Pennsylvania. She was a good student and an excellent athlete, which would help her get into Boston University with a nice scholarship. Cooper went to college after graduating senior year. There, the future podcast star played soccer.
But it wasn't just any soccer team. It was a division one group. So the schedule was rigorous, and Alex dedicated much of her time to practice and games, even attending annual championships. When Cooper wasn't playing or studying, she was usually partying.
Graduating College
But attending Boston University was more than a social or athletic experiment. Alex also discovered some of her professional passions while studying there. Cooper was especially interested in the world of media and entertainment, so she chose a major in that area.
Alex majored in film and television during her time at the school. After four years of studying hard, playing soccer, and partying, Cooper finally graduated in May 2017. She was soon on to bigger and better things... and a whirlwind rise to internet fame.
A High-Profile Romance
After graduating from Boston University, Alex was once again on to bigger and better things. More specifically, the Big Apple. The college grad went to New York City to officially start adulting. Not long after the big move, Cooper made headlines for a new romance.
Alex was spotted kissing pro baseball star Noah Syndergaard at a Knicks ball game. Syndergaard was a player for the New York Mets, and his relationship with New York City's latest arrival made waves in the gossip columns. But Cooper would soon meet another special someone.
Meeting Her New BFF
Alex's relationship with the New York Mets player eventually fizzled out, but she didn't spend too much time mourning the loss. There was plenty of fish in the sea, after all. And it was around this time that Cooper met someone else who would change her life forever.
About a year after graduating from Boston University, a mutual friend introduced Alex to Sofia Franklyn. The two gals hit it off right away. But it was a conversation during a vacation in Texas that ultimately led the new pals to take a professional leap together.
A Life-Changing Moment
Alex and Sofia took some time away from the Big Apple for a little vacay in good ol' Texas. The two women were out one night when they started having a very open conversation about anything and everything related to dating culture, the good, the bad, and the worst.
Alex and Sofia candidly discussed details of their dating lives and experiences. Some people gathered around, surprised (and pleased) to hear such honesty. Eventually, someone who overheard the conversation suggested that Cooper and Franklyn create a podcast together.
She Was Unemployed
Ideas started churning in the two friends' heads. At the time, Alex was jobless and already creating a lot of content on her own. "I was on unemployment checks; I didn't have a job," she explained. "I was just vlogging and trying to make it on YouTube."
And then the pieces started falling together. "My friend who had just started at a start-up reached out to me and was like, 'Hey, Alex. Do you want to do a podcast?'" Cooper detailed. "So I bring Sofia along. I'm like, 'Yep. We're gonna do a show, no idea what it's gonna be yet.'"
The Birth of 'Call Her Daddy'
Alex didn't know it, but this would turn out to be her biggest career move so far. She and Sofia sat down and just started chatting away about all of the things they always enjoyed talking about: men, dating, romance, and hook-up culture. Call Her Daddy was born.
"We created it, and we get going," Alex recalled. "So we created four episodes." The episodes were filled with details of the two friends' dating lives and experiences. But they also advised other young women and - perhaps most importantly of all - it was hilarious.
The Podcast Took Off
Like we mentioned before, Alex wasn't new to the world of content creating and social media. Cooper already had her own YouTube channel, where she vlogged daily adventures, dating fails, and more funny stuff. But the college grad's personal account hadn't quite taken off.
But Call Her Daddy? That was a whole different story. There was a nearly instant response to Alex and Sofia's hysterical podcast. People loved their candid talk and shameless attitude. Maybe the two podcast hosts had an inkling that they were about to embark on a wild ride.
Barstool Sports Slid Into Alex's DMs
It didn't take long for the podcast to be noticed by a popular brand: Barstool Sports. "[Barstool founder] David Portnoy slid into my DMs," Alex shared on a YouTube video. "I just knew him in social scenes of New York City." Cooper went to meet with Portnoy at the media company.
"[I] went to Barstool alone by myself for a few meetings, and they went great. Dave and I talked about, you know, coming with Call Her Daddy, me vlogging, and also just like coming as a personality and doing things at Barstool," Alex said. But was Portnoy interested in both her and Sofia?
It Blew Up
Thankfully, Dave wanted all of the podcast gang. "I told him Call Her Daddy is Sophia and I, and he was like, 'Great, can't wait to meet her, bring her along. Let's do the damn thing.'" And so the two friends-turned-business partners signed a 3-year deal with Barstool Sports.
And things took off - quickly. "The podcast literally blew up," Alex recalled. And soon, the Call Her Daddy hosts wanted more moolah. "In our original contract, it stated that at the end of each year, we were able to renegotiate our compensation," Cooper said.
Alex and Sofia Wanted More Money
When Alex and Sofia initially signed the contract, it was a 3-year deal that paid them each $75,000 the first year, $85,000 the second, and $100,000 the third. As the Call Her Daddy podcast became a whole brand, including merchandise and more, the hosts got a raise.
The business partners eventually realized that, even with the raises, Barstool Sports was not paying them what they felt the podcast was worth. After all, the brand was now making significantly more money off of Call Her Daddy than expected. And that's when the drama started...
"The End"
At the time, Sofia had a boyfriend named Peter. He was a lawyer, and the friends turned to him for advice. "Sofia and I allowed Peter to essentially take the reins," Cooper explained. Franklyn's beau helped them understand that they were making "significantly less than industry standards."
So with the help of Peter, Alex and Sofia put together a list of demands for Barstool Sports. Amongst the requests were, of course, raises for both of them. But the company rejected their demands. Fans were left confused when Call Her Daddy posted an episode titled Kesha... The End before going AWOL.
They Got More Moolah
After Barstool Sports said a big 'No' to their demands, Alex and Sofia took Call Her Daddy's content elsewhere. The friends were technically still bound to Barstool Sports, but they wanted to see what other companies would pay for the hilarious podcast. And it turned out others would give the big bucks.
After informing Barstool Sports of the competing offers, David Portnoy asked to have another meeting. He agreed to pay Alex and Sofia each a $500,000 annual salary, plus bonuses and six months off the original three-year contract. And that's when the women's friendship began falling apart.
Alex vs. Sofia
Alex was ecstatic as the girls left the meeting. She was happy to stay at Barstool Sports as long as they were paid a fair salary. But her partner felt differently. "Sofia was like, 'I personally don't think that meeting changed anything. I still feel the same as when we went in,'" Cooper said.
Alex was shocked. The podcast host didn't realize she and her partner in crime were on such different pages. Sofia still wanted to shop around at other brands and find better deals, so Cooper agreed to wait a bit before giving Barstool a final answer.
The End of an Era
But Alex ultimately decided she wanted to stay loyal to Barstool Sports. Unfortunately, Sofia did not. At that point, past secrets bubbled up that tore the friendship apart. Franklyn was hurt after learning that Cooper had previously been given a higher raise from the company.
Alex claimed that Sofia had long been uncomfortable because Cooper did more work on the podcast, so she hid the raise. "I would just be editing late at night... and I would take a Snapchat and posted it," Alex shared. According to her, Franklyn didn't like that and started to take credit for the editing. They soon went their separate ways.
Alex's Comeback
The end to all of this drama? Alex took the deal with Barstool Sports and became a one-woman show, or a "Single Father" as she likes to call herself. The popular host was back online in late May 2020, with a round of different friends helping keep the podcast spicy.
Cooper came back with a bang. In August, she met up with a total icon for a special episode of Call Her Daddy: Miley Cyrus joined the Daddy Gang. But as Alex moved on, it turned out it wasn't really the end of all the drama... Sofia had one more thing to say. And it wasn't pretty.
Sofia Accused Alex of Using Her
While Alex carried on, the drama followed her. Attention was back on the feud between the former besties when Sofia spoke out. "I don't really know how a friendship breakup feels, and part of the reason why is I realized later that this person was never my friend," she said.
"I think I was completely just used as a vessel to get famous," Sofia added. "She saw me, thought I was funny, she thought we had good chemistry. I confused that with a friendship and it really was just a business ploy on her end." Soon, Franklyn wasn't the only one speaking out against Alex.
A Feud With Sway House
The truth is, there's hardly ever a lack of influencer feuds in the TikTok era. But still, Cooper having beef with Sway House was one scandal we did not see coming. It all began when the wildly popular podcast host was a guest on Josh Richards' and David Portnoy's BFFs podcast in November of 2020.
The 26-year-old was asked to "rank" the Sway boys. Cooper prefaced the rankings by assuring the audience that all of the boys were too young for her taste, but things got interesting when she exposed Griffin Johnson for shooting his shot on the Gram...
She Dissed Blake Gray
Alex revealed that Griffin previously slid into her DMs. "Confirmed that i did slide into @alexandracooper DM's.. it was a failed mission," Johnson later tweeted. Cooper also had a fair share of critiques for the rest of the boys. But two in particular, Bryce Hall and Blake Gray, didn't exactly take theirs with a grain of salt.
Alex advised Blake that his then-bleached hair look was not working for him while also claiming that Gray's girlfriend, Amelie Zilber, slid into Cooper's DMs for advice on the couple's relationship. When the TikTok star took to Twitter and claimed he had no idea who the Barstool Sports host was, things got even messier.
They Took It to Twitter
After Cooper told Gray to "Ask [his] girlfriend" who she was and that his "whole relationship" was in her DMs, Blake shot back - and didn't hold back. "Why is some 30 year old who's going through a mid-life crisis trying to feel young again by... tweeting about my 19 year old relationship?" he wrote.
Alex also said that she wasn't fond of Bryce's look, even comparing him to a certain sloth from Ice Age, which Josh referred to as an "ego check" for Hall. While Josh laughed along in good fun, Bryce didn't think her comments were all that funny. "Imagine the roles were switched and we roasted her appearance," he pointed out.
Alex Was Unbothered
But one thing we can say for sure, even after this legendary feud, is that Alex remained unbothered. While the Sway boys threw shots at her online, Cooper was more worried about how to get Flamin' Hot Cheetos while on a trip abroad. Let's be honest, that's a mood.
After a fan asked Alex, "Why are you on tiktok tea pages lmfao" the podcast host answered, "idk more importantly im focused on why are flaming hot Cheetos banned in London," with crying emojis. Soon after things quieted down, Cooper was back in the headlines.
Coming for Dixie and Noah
After Alex shook the online world with her ruthless ranking of the Sway House boys, more footage was leaked from that same interview where the influencer claimed that Dixie D'Amelio and Noah Beck's relationship was for clout. "I just don't like when people fake relationships for the internet," Cooper said.
Dixie and Noah responded in the best way they know how: with a TikTok duet. The couple was seen on D'Amelio's bed (Beck was wearing undereye patches - casual), and both the influencers visibly rolled their eyes in front of the camera. We guess sometimes actions speak louder than words.
A Fling With Logan Paul
A few months after beef broke out between Alex and the Sway House, the 26-year-old was back on BFFs with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. And boy, oh boy, did she spill some tea! In April of 2021, Father Cooper admitted to a brief fling with Logan Paul.
Piping hot, right? Well, according to Alex, not so much. The Call Her Daddy host said the romance was short, and the duo didn't go all the way. "We were going to keep it to ourselves," Cooper explained. "And Logan Paul is really bad at keeping a secret."
Her Secret Boyfriend
So Logan Paul spilled the beans, and Alex embraced it by letting the fans know the truth from her own mouth. As it turned out, a quick fling with a fellow influencer wasn't the only thing Cooper wanted to be kept under wraps. The host, known for dating multiple people at a time, had settled down.
Cooper admitted she fell for someone. But, the Single Father wouldn't be sharing his identity. Popular for exploiting all the details of her own dating life, this was one thing Alex didn't want to share. "I'm keeping him private," she explained. What fans learned next sent them into a whirlwind.
Making History
As it turned out, Alex was making moves in her romantic life and business ventures. The podcast host was back in the limelight when news broke over a massive contract: Cooper signed a whopping $60 million deal with none other than audio streaming and media company Spotify.
It was official: After a wild - and dramatic - ride with Barstool Sports, Alex would be moving on to Spotify come July 2021. It was nothing shady; the host's contract with Call Her Daddy's first home would be finished by then, and she was free to move on. But with that new contract came many other changes.
A Growing Net Worth
Alex arguably became an A-Lister in the world of influencers and vloggers. But this new deal with Spotify took her status - and bank account - to the next level. According to Celebrity Net Worth, at the time of this article's writing, Cooper had a net worth of roughly $10 million.
Alex also made history: the Call Her Daddy host's $60 million deal with Spotify was reportedly the biggest exclusive deal for a woman-led podcast in history at the time of signing. So what exactly did Cooper do with all of that newfound financial success?
Living in Luxury
For starters, Alex's success with Call Her Daddy led her from the Big Apple to the City of Angels - and a bomb new flat filled with gorgeous decor. It seemed that Cooper was living the life and came a long way from an unemployed city gal. But the Spotify deal meant more than just moolah.
"I'm incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported, helped, and been a part of 'Call Her Daddy,'" Coper said in a statement. "From its start three years ago, the show has always been about challenging the status quo and manifesting conversations that previously only happened behind closed doors." But, of course, there were always haters...
The Haters
While Alex viewed Call Her Daddy as "challenging the status quo," others disagreed. Some listeners (who probably didn't stick around for long) didn't think the podcast's content was empowering for women and questioned its home at Barstool Sports, a company dominated by men.
Cooper disagreed. "For people that don't know what Call Her Daddy means, the word 'daddy' is like, you're a boss... you are in control of your life," she said during one of the episodes. "We are saying, 'No, no, no, girls can be daddy, too... Men can be [daddy] too."
Just Getting Started
But it definitely looked like the lovers outweighed the haters. At the time of this article's writing, the Call Her Daddy Gram page has nearly two million followers. Father Cooper's has more than two million. And with a Spotify deal under the belt, we bet she's just getting started.
From a Pennsylvania childhood to an L.A. resident causing waves (and drama) in the influencer community, Cooper has seen a lot since her rise to internet fame. And we can't wait to see what else she brings. We bet the Call Her Daddy host's time in Cali will be nothing short of entertaining.