Photo: KELLY BURGESS/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
Since 2019, the fall season has been heralded by an oversize-scarf-wearing, Pumpkin Spice Latte–sipping fashion plate. Caitlin Covington became known as the patron saint of fall when her photos of her in her autumnal-influencer-girl fits went viral as the centerpiece of the “Christian Girl Autumn” meme six years ago. Since then, Covington has really leaned into her reputation, spending every fall filling the feeds of her Instagram followers (she has over a million of them) with snaps of her visiting pumpkin patches, leaf-peeping, and wearing a lot of chunky sweaters in a rainbow of tasteful fall neutrals.
But on Tuesday, Covington claimed to be taking a step back. In an emotional video she posted to TikTok, the North Carolina–based influencer cried as she broke the news to her followers. “This is my fourth time recording, and I just don’t know how I’m going to tell you guys that I’m not going to be able to post fall videos this year,” she said. Covington didn’t go into detail about the decision but said she’d felt “a lot of pressure to make each video better than the last, to make each fall trip better.”
“I just really need a break this year, and I’m really sorry,” she said.
As it turns out, Ms. Autumn was lying. Less than a day later, she posted a 12-second video to TikTok declaring that she was “just kidding.” “Plot twist: I would NEVER cancel fall 🍁🍂,” she captioned her post.
While this turned out to be all a ruse, Covington has addressed the pressure she feels to ring in the season before. In an interview with People last year, she said she starts preparing in May or June of each year, planning trips up north to shoot content, putting together the perfect outfits, and researching potential photo-shoot locations. “I do feel pressure, especially during fall because I feel like everyone looks to me for fall content,” she said. “So I try to hold myself to a certain standard and brainstorm new creative ideas. I spend hours researching and planning outfits for fall. There’s a lot of pressure, and I want my videos and pictures to be well received.”
Covington also said she tries to live up to the “Christian” part of “Christian Girl Autumn” — though not in the way people might assume. She’s said she’s not a Republican and supports the LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, when the person who coined the term “Christian Girl Autumn” posted a GoFundMe to help fund her transition, Covington donated $500 and promoted the link to her broad audience. Covington told People she knows “Christians can get a bad rap,” but she wants her followers to know she is “very accepting of everyone and [has] a very open mind.” Let’s hope the queen of fall can enjoy her PSLs in peace this year.
