For the last decade, Amanda Mertz has risen to fame fthrough her appearances on the online entertainment platform Rated Red, and fher career as a model. Her gorgeous looks, on-screen charisma, and skills in building artifacts in front of the camera are some of the main reasons she’s become famous, yet there’s a lot about her that not even her most loyal followers know.
So what’s going on with Amanda Mertz these days? What has she been doing since she stopped collaborating with Rated Red? What about her entrepreneurship, early career as a beauty pageant, and personal life? Keep with us to learn this and more about Amanda!
What Is She Doing Now?
It’s been a while since we last saw Amanda Mertz in Rated Red. Her appearances in the outlet’s content gained her lots of followers on social media and opened more professional doors for her, such as starting her own fashion brand and getting modeling gigs.
It isn’t far-fetched to say that most of Amanda’s success is owed to her experiences in Rated Red, so it wasn’t that surprising that when the outlet went back from a five-year-long hiatus to resume producing content in early 2023, she was included in it. Unfortunately, this new chapter in Rated Red’s history wasn’t meant to have Amanda in it for some time, as she eventually stopped appearing in any content produced.
However, not being involved with Rated Red doesn’t mean that Amanda has stopped working altogether. As seen in her social media, she’s currently focused on her modeling and lifestyle career, and it isn’t rare for her to attend industry-related events and abtain brand sponsorships.
Last but not least, Amanda often takes part in altruist initiatives such as helping out cancer-awareness organizations, and helping collect funds for people in need. The former is also a mission she’s especially interested in, as her mother sadly died from cancer in 2020.
All in all, everything seems to be going well professionally for Amanda these days, but her most loyal fans can get a closer look at her whereabouts on her highly popular Instagram and Facebook accounts.
What Happened To Rated Red?
Rated Red is an entertainment social media outlet which describes itself as ‘the voice of Heartland Millennials’. Its content is centered on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and it’s the latter platform on which Rated Red posts its longest-duration content, focusing on topics such as food, content reviews, and everyday life experiences.
It was during those early Rated Red times that Amanda Mertz rose to fame as one of the most entertaining members of the media outlet’s team. The Kentucky beauty saw herself taking part in carpentry and metalworking builds in front of the camera, on top of which her charismatic and entertaining personality made her the perfect addition to the adventures that Rated Red’s staff often shared on their videos.
Though Rated Red stopped producing content in 2018, for unknown reasons, they eventually came back in early 2023 with a renewed image. Although Amanda was still part of the team back then ,and filmed a handful of videos with the new Rated Red throughout 2023, she stopped appearing in the videos in early 2024 without much of an explanation.
It’s unclear why Amanda and Rated Red are no longer working together as they did in the old times, and while it’s fair to assume that she might be focused on other projects, nothing can be said for sure about the professional split unless one party opens up about it.
Modeling Career & Beauty Pageant
Even though most of Amanda Mertz’s followers know her for her work as an online personality and influencer, she began her career as a model and in beauty pageants.
According to online sources, Amanda comes from Louisville, Kentucky, USA, and was born in November 1986. She studied nursing at the University of Louisville, but no further details about Amanda’s education are known.
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The first time the general public caught sight of Amanda was in 2010, when she took part in Maxim’s Hometown Hotties competition representing Kentucky. Although Amanda didn’t make it past the finalist round, she was featured in two video campaigns by the platform, one during the competition and another in 2011, when she was photographed for a Navy-themed edition.
Also that year, Amanda was placed second runner-up in the Miss Kentucky USA competition. A year later, she was crowned Miss Kentucky USA but didn’t make it far in the 2012 Miss USA edition.
In 2015 she shared a throwback picture of her experience at the 2012 Miss USA competition. In it, a rarely-seen blonde Amanda is getting makeup applied to her face backstage,at the event and added the hashtag #IStillWearAnInvisibleCrown to the caption.
While Amanda has apparently left her beauty pageant days far behind, it seems that she warmly remembers that period of her life.
Personal Life
Amanda Mertz has gone through several personal highs and lows throughout the years. First of all, she has opened up about the loss of both her parents, starting with her father Joseph Kelly Mertz Sr., who passed away in January 2012. On the first anniversary of his death, Amanda wrote a heartfelt Instagram message about her late father in which she described him as her ‘angel in heaven’.
Later in July 2020, Amanda’s mother Sandee Mertz Hutchison passed away at 60 years old. Amanda wrote about the heartbreaking loss in an Instagram post in December of that year, revealing that her mother had been diagnosed in February with cancer, but it became hard to spend time with her due to the then-increasing COVID-19 restrictions.
Following her mother’s death, Amanda experienced a period of ‘depression and emptiness’, but affirmed she found renewed strength in her Christian faith.
Regarding her romantic life, Amanda has openly shared pics with several of her boyfriends over the years on her Instagram. However, to date, her most publicized relationship has been with Luke Pell, a “Bachelorette” star with whom she became engaged in July 2022. Unfortunately, the couple split the following year, and he eventually married toTexan model named Hayley James in 2024.
Her Business & The Future
Amanda Mertz co-founded the fashion brand Activ8 Wear, which focused on sporty workout clothes. The brand was founded in 2019 and remained active for three years, before becoming inactive in 2022 for unknown reasons. Though the shop’s website and social media are still up, there’s no mention of the business on Amanda’s side these days.
It’s unclear if Amanda plans on starting another entrepreneurship in the future, but for now, she seems to be doing well as a model and social media influencer.
