NEED TO KNOW
- When Maebrie Martin found a toilet paper roll in her bathroom mysteriously replaced, she feared an intruder had entered her home
- Her TikTok recounting the moment went viral, sparking wild theories from millions of viewers
- When she found out the truth, the once-scary moment took a turn
It started with a roll of toilet paper — or rather, the sudden appearance of one. When Maebrie Martin got home one afternoon, the last thing she expected to find was that someone had replaced the empty toilet paper roll she’d left behind that morning.
What began as confusion quickly spiraled into panic — and later, a viral TikTok that millions couldn’t stop watching.
“I am freaking out right now,” Maebrie tells PEOPLE of the moment, laughing as she looks back on the day. “This morning, I used the last of the toilet paper, but the extra rolls were still boxed up, so I figured I’d deal with it later. When I got home and saw the toilet paper replaced, I thought I was losing my mind.”
Her first reaction wasn’t amusement — it was fear. “I literally feel like someone is in here,” she says. “I remember exactly where I put the toilet paper holder thingy, and there was a stick broken off inside from when I painted it. I saw that stick this morning, and now it’s gone. I did not do this.”
With her husband away and the home security cameras not working, the situation felt even stranger. “I tried to check our cameras,” Maebrie recalls. “The batteries were dead or something, and my husband hadn’t been home, so I’m sitting there thinking, what is going on?”
Her thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of it. “Colby’s best friend lives next door, but why would he come over and change the toilet paper?” she asks hypothetically. “I was like, if I did this and don’t remember, I’m checking myself into a mental institution because what the—!”
Maebrie Martin.
Maebrie Martin/TikTok
The moment rattled her so much that she couldn’t even eat. “I’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes, going insane,” she says. “I thought someone was about to run out of one of my bedrooms.”
In an effort to calm herself — and maybe laugh about it — Maebrie turned to TikTok. “To be clear, I have had like 10 people watch my TikTok,” she notes. “So I’m posting this to the 10 people that are watching, not expecting anything from it whatsoever.”
By the next morning, she saw that her video had a much larger reach than she expected. “I see that I have like 15,000 notifications,” she says. “I’m like, oh my gosh… I guess my video blew up.”
As the comments rolled in, the internet’s theories took on a life of their own. “Everyone thinks that my husband is cheating on me,” Maebrie says. “That didn’t even cross my mind whatsoever. I was dying laughing over this whole thing.”
People online urged her to investigate. “They’re telling me to check his phone,” she recalls. “I’m like, I have access to his phone — it’s not a big deal. It was so funny.”
The video, intended as a harmless story, became an overnight phenomenon. “My husband’s friends were calling him, reading through the comments,” she says. “We got such a kick out of it. People online can make anything sound scandalous.”
But the truth was far more wholesome than any of the viral theories. “My mom’s friend sent her my TikTok while we were at the gym,” Maebrie explains. “She was like, ‘It’s probably your sister.’ So we checked her location, and sure enough, she had come home for a doctor’s appointment, said hi to our dog Oscar, went to the bathroom and then left.”
When the realization hit, Maebrie couldn’t help but laugh. “I knew that I didn’t do it,” she says. “But once I found out it was her, I was like, oh my gosh — of course.”
She quickly posted a follow-up video to set the record straight — but the internet wasn’t ready to move on. “At that point, people were like, your husband is cheating with your sister,” Maebrie says, still laughing. “It was so funny. I’m like, you guys are insufferable.”
The absurdity only made it more entertaining. “That night, we made another video together just talking about the situation,” she says. “Then people start commenting, saying, ‘Never mind, he’s gay.’ It just kept getting wilder.”
Maebrie Martin’s husband.
Maebrie Martin/TikTok
Far from being frustrated, Maebrie and her husband embraced the chaos. “We just told everyone in our lives about it,” she says. “It was a huge joke.”
Her sister, the accidental source of all the confusion, found it just as funny. “She thought it was hilarious,” Maebrie says.
Before long, even her family joined in on the laughter. “My dad loved it so much he’s been telling his co-workers,” she says. “Honestly, it’s just been the funniest thing ever. For this one random thing to go that viral — it was just so funny to us.”
The moment that once had her spiraling now feels like a story she’ll be telling for years. “Oh, no, I never thought I was going to find an answer,” Maebrie says. “All of my TikTok videos are just me kind of talking to my friends. I wasn’t asking people for input.”
Even so, the experience taught her something unexpected. “You have to think about what you’re sharing, because there were so many people even in our community who saw this video,” she says.
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Maebrie Martin’s sister.
Maebrie Martin/TikTok
Now, Maebrie looks back on the whole ordeal with warmth and gratitude. “Maybe a little more context next time,” she says. “But honestly, it was just so much fun to be a part of something like this. I would do it all over again.”
For Maebrie, the experience was a reminder that sometimes the smallest surprises bring the biggest smiles. “It’s just life,” she shares. “And sometimes, that’s funny enough.”
