Who is Deux Moi? Celebrity gossip Instagram account explained - and has secret identity ever been revealed

The lives of celebrities has been something that has fascinated the public since basically the beginning of time, with fans and followers unable to get bored of the gossip that surrounds the likes of actors, musicians, athletes and more.

One Instagram account has become the number one go-to for thousands to get their fix of juicy celebrity gossip - Deux Moi.

Deux Moi has consistently been the first to break a number of huge celebrity stories, like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s break-up and Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles’ relationship. Recently, the account announced that singer Adele and boyfriend Rich Paul had gotten engaged, and are set to get married later in the year.

If you’ve never heard of Deux Moi, then worry not - this is everything you need to know.

What is Deux Moi?

Deux Moi is an Instagram account (@deuxmoi) which publishes celebrity gossip ranging from the scandalous, like break-ups and cheating rumours, to the mundane, like food preferences and innocuous celebrity sightings in New York City.

The account has over 1.7 million followers on Instagram, the bio of which states: “Some statements made on this account have not been independently confirmed. This account does not claim information is based in fact.”

Deux Moi has a website as well, Deuxmoi.World, which sends blind items to email subscribers and allows readers to submit their stories and rumours.

A blind item refers to a story in which the details of the matter are shared while the identities of the people involved are not revealed. Blind items were created by William d’Alton Mann, the publisher of Town Topics, who often used them for blackmail. Given the nature of blind items, evidence or proof of the allegations are scarce, so it’s best to take the rumours with a pinch of salt.

Building on its Instagram bio, the site says: “Deuxmoi.World publishes rumours and conjecture, not facts. In addition to information reported directly from sources, certain characters, situations and even events portrayed on this website are either products of the author’s imagination or conjecture. Information on this website may contain inaccuracies.

“The proprietor of this website does not make warranty as to the reliability, validity or correctness of the content of the site’s content or of the information sent directly from sources. Materials published on this site sent directly from other sources are not the responsibility of Deuxmoi.World.”

As well as the Instagram account and the website, Deux Moi also runs a podcast, called Deux U, and in 2022 released a book titled Anon Pls.

Anon Pls tells the story of a fictionalised fashionista who finds herself anonymously famous thanks to her Deux Moi-like Instagram account. The book has been picked up by HBO to be adapted into a TV series.

When was the account created?

The account was originally created in 2013, and was initially made alongside a fashion blog which was run anonymously by two women. Talking to the Daily Front Row in 2015, they said that they decided to be anonymous because they didn’t want the site to be about them, and also so that they could speak freely.

They said: “We want to be able to say “f**k” and “s**t” without our parents feeling embarrassed. Since we are anonymous, it seems easier to be more liberal with our writing and images. No judgement, because this is a judgy-wudgy f**king world.”

However, the website fizzled out as the two were unable to keep up with running the site alongside their jobs, and the Instagram account went dormant - that was, until the Covid-19 pandemic when Deux Moi, seemingly now being run by just one person, posted: “DM me any celeb stories (first or second hand) you are willing to share.”

Deux Moi told Paper Magazine in 2020: “It didn’t really take off as much as we wanted it to, but I kept the account, because it had about 45k followers. I kept it and posted whenever I felt like it. I started posting celebrity gossip and blind items from different websites. There was no initiative behind it, it was just what I did when I was bored.

“And then when we all went into quarantine in March, I had a lot more time on my hands, so I was posting more. One day I sort of said, "Why don’t you guys write in to me any experiences you’ve had with celebrities." That’s what started it all, and from there it snowballed. Very organic. None of this was planned.”

Why does Deux Moi keep her identity secret?

Talking to the Daily Mail in December 2022, Deux Moi explained that she wants her identity to remain anonymous because she wants the page to be the main focus for people, not her.

She said: “I think it’s partly my personality and partly I truly believe if you want something like this, a new media and brand, in order for it to be successful it needs to be about that and not about me. I’m happy to not be front facing. I love doing my podcast but if someone else could record it as me I would.

“I don’t want to be in the limelight, that’s just not what I seek and I think in the long run it will be better for what I want to accomplish. I’m not trying to be mysterious, I’m not trying to be Gossip Girl. From a business standpoint, people told me very early on I am making the right decision.

“These brands or companies come out and the people that started them wind up becoming more infamous than what they’re trying to accomplish.”

When asked if she would ever reveal her identity, Deux Moi joked: “I once said to somebody I’ll reveal my identity if I get on the cover of Forbes. Then maybe, but it’s not worth it. It could all go away tomorrow and then I’d have to go back to my normal life.”

Do we know who runs Deux Moi?

While Deux Moi has spoken about her intention to keep her name a secret, the identity of the person behind the Instagram account has been the subject of much speculation over the years.

In May 2022, writer Brian Feldman appeared to potentially reveal Deux Moi’s identity in a newsletter which was also posted on his Substack. In his article, Feldman said that, despite a “podcast, book deal, television show, and regular interviews with media outlets, nobody seems to know who Deux Moi is”, which is “kind of weird, because it was not difficult to figure [it out]”.

Trawling through the digital history of Deux Moi, looking through old social media accounts, interviews, tweets and more, Feldman deduced that Deux Moi was originally run by Meggie Kempner and Melissa Lovallo, with Lovallo allegedly running the current iteration of Deux Moi.

Kempner is the granddaughter of New York socialite Nan Kemper, and is the founder of Kempner, which is a women’s fashion brand based in New York City. She also owns Meggie Kempner Design, an interior design company also based in the same city.

Not much is known about Lovello on the other hand - she is believed to have worked at Ralph Lauren at some point, and potentially did some modelling as well.

It has never been officially confirmed if either Kempner or Lovello have, or have had, any involvement in Deux Moi.