Social Media Creeped Out Again By Youth Pastor Celebrating That His Wife Finally 'Turned 18'

Many on social media have been creeped out for a second time by German youth pastor and YouTuber Joshua Wesely, who went viral after his November 2020 Instagram post celebrating his then-girlfriend, now-wife Isabelle Wesely turning 18 was discovered last year.

Youth Pastor.
And we're out here calling drag queens groomers pic.twitter.com/k2yeJdaRXr

— Amir Talai 🐳 (@AmirTalai) February 20, 2023

In the post drawing controversy, he celebrated how the two had been together for four years, which allowed people to deduce they'd been dating since she was around 14. It's unclear what age Wesley is, but the first time his post went viral, he was rumored to be 24 (making their ages 20 and 14 when they purportedly started dating).

doing some quick math… pic.twitter.com/akibDYrlRM

— I.G.Y. azalea (@HaitianDvorce) January 17, 2022

While this led to hefty accusations of grooming from many American Twitter users, the age of consent in Germany is 14, making their relationship legal in their country despite many questioning the optics.

A lack of context around Wesely's post has helped it go viral twice now. Many commenters on the image appear to not know Wesely is German.

Furthermore, his choice to caption the post "Finally 18!" echoes a frowned-upon practice in which some men voice how excited they are for a child celebrity to come of legal age.

finally 18? this is predator as hell. https://t.co/VRYz6fjhpk

— min (@songfordany) February 21, 2023

Finally 18? After dating her for 4 years? As her youth pastor? Sounds like grooming to me. https://t.co/J14FWzUqSI

— Johnny Akzam (@JohnnyAkzam) February 21, 2023

if there's one thing a conservative pastor is going to do, it's groom children. this predator should be in jail https://t.co/pcD2RYUlV8

— ᴊᴇʟᴀ (@jelevision) February 21, 2023

The second wave of Wesely's virality comes from Twitter user @AmirTalai, who used the post to argue how Wesely's relationship might not be deemed problematic in the eyes of those who claim drag queens are groomers.

While Wesely locked his Instagram account after his first wave of viral infamy a year ago, it has since been unlocked and he often makes posts with his wife. Wesely is also known for making a film in 2021 imagining a life where restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic led to worldwide communism and godlessness by 2025.