Daniel Howell explains the reason behind his year-long YouTube hiatus

Dan & Phil are one of YouTube’s most popular duos and OG content creators — but while Phil has been fairly active on the platform, Dan mysteriously went quiet, only reappearing on the site after a year of radio silence.

British YouTube duo Daniel Howell & Phil Lester have garnered a massive fanbase ever since they began creating videos in 2006, hailed for their relatable sense of humor and long-lasting friendship.

Last year, Howell uploaded a video that quickly rose to the top of YouTube’s trending page, simply titled, “Basically, I’m Gay.”

The 45-minute long, soul-baring video featured a sit-down with Dan’s fans, where he discussed his sexual orientation and gave advice to those in his audience who may be discovering their own identities.

However, the YouTuber went quiet shortly thereafter and hadn’t uploaded or appeared in a video for an entire year until January 4, 2021, when he sat down beside Phil in a joint upload to discuss his whereabouts.

• Read More: Best chess streamers to watch on Twitch

“As you know, I have clearly taken a break from regular YouTube uploads,” he explained. “This was an emotional and spiritual and personal growth journey that I chose to be on, that, you know… the gay video, everything else, I really felt like I hadn’t really had time to ask: ‘Who am I? What do I want? What am I doing? Why?’ And I’m in that period.”

(Topic begins at 17:28)

That being said, it wasn’t as if Dan hadn’t planned to put out some projects last year; according to the YouTuber, “There were supposed to be a couple of things, and then 2020 happened.”

• Read More: Joe Rogan explains why he takes testosterone supplements

The chaos of 2020 and his own self-discovery weren’t the only reasons he’s been absent, though, with both he and Phil revealing they’ve been busy moving into a new home of their own design.

They don’t plan on doing a house tour anytime soon though, in an effort to protect their privacy — but it seems like their fans are sated enough after Dan finally made an appearance with Phil after an entire year relative inactivity.

Thus far, Dan has been met with an outpouring of support from his viewers, who can’t wait to see what this year has in store for him.