Kelly Myers didn’t think much of her father Everton Myers’ texting habits. That is, until she started posting screenshots of his messages to social media.
Everton texts his family in a professional manner. He formally addresses members of his family, types in complete sentences and paragraphs, and there’s rarely internet slang or shorthand.
He’ll send messages about upcoming plans, daily epiphanies or tasks for someone in the family, Kelly tells TODAY.com.
“Please note that I will make arrangements to meet you at EWR airport for your flight arriving at 5:56 p.m. (terminal C). On our way home we will stop and drop-off the package for Grandma – she is anxiously waiting for it,” one example reads.
He’s always communicated this way, Kelly says.
“I talk the way I talk, and I write the way I write, because it’s who I am as a person,” Everton tells TODAY.com in a joint interview with his daughter. “So I’m just me. You know what you see is what you get.”
Now, Everton’s “overly professional” texts have turned him into a viral sensation. Kelly has posted 12 videos full of screenshots of some of her dad’s messages — and viewers can’t get enough.
“People have been saying, like, ‘Can you teach a lesson in communication, or how to text properly?’” Kelly says.
Everton says his penchant for formal communication comes from his background in sales and marketing.
“I repaired the furnace ignitor wire (repurchased from Amazon); and it’s working well. The new ignitor (left) replaced with the old burnt-out ignitor (right). By doing this repair by myself, we saved around $400-$500 (or more),” he wrote — semicolon, parentheses and all — in one text from Part 3 of the video series.
While not everyone is used to this level of professionalism over text, Kelly says to her New Jersey family, “This is normal.”
“When I first told him that the video went viral, he literally didn’t get it, because he was like, ‘I don’t understand. Like, this is just how I speak,'” Kelly says.
Kelly’s favorite texts are ones sent in their family group chat specifically addressed to her brother Jayden.
“Jayden, where are you? You need to come home and immediately clean your room. We have visitors coming; therefore, your room needs to be presentable,” one text reads.
“For me, the text where he’s talking to my brother Jayden, are always the funniest ones,” Kelly says. “Like telling him to clean up his room, or like to not go out or something like that.”
Their mom typically strikes a more fun and bubbly tone in her texts, she says.
“My mom types the complete opposite,” Kelly says with a laugh. “So it’s just like, the dichotomy of the text is gonna be funny.”
Kelly first started posting about her dad’s texts in 2021 after she noticed another TikToker call out her family group chat. She went on to post a video about her dad’s messages, including one that read: “Water has been restored to the refrigerator. There are 2 new filters installed. Therefore, bottled water purchases will be suspended.”
She didn’t think of it again until June 2025 when she returned to posting on the platform and noticed someone had commented on her previous videos, “Can you bring this back?”
Kelly listened. Her videos now range in views from 22,000 to 836,000.
“I’m preparing family dinner today. Dinner will be around 4pm. Please make arrangements accordingly. We will discuss plans and set goals for 2023,” one standout text reads.
Kelly says Everton wasn’t aware of his relative online fame until recently, when they received a PR package from AT&T.
But Everton emphasizes: “I am just being me.”
While Kelly admits she was once “a little annoyed” by her dad’s texting style, she now appreciates her family’s dynamic and close communication.
“I’m just grateful that I could share this with the world of what great communication is,” Kelly says.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
