Anyone who was on the internet in 2015 remembers who Keir Johnston and his wife, Grace Johnston, are – maybe not by name, but definitely by meme. The couple went viral after a friend posted a photo of the dress Grace’s mother wore to their wedding – a dress that created quite an uproar on social media.
Pegged ‘The Dress That Broke the Internet,’ people were divided on whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold – some people saw it one way and some people saw it the other way, but no one could figure out why. The world was flabbergasted, but it pales in comparison to what we’re now learning.
The man behind the viral black and blue dress from 2015, Keir Johnston, has been charged with the attempted murder of his wife #DramaAlert
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) July 15, 2023
He tried to kill her last march by pinning her to the ground and pressing her neck. pic.twitter.com/pUP5FghxUT
On July 10, Keir Johnston (the 38-year-old husband) appeared in court after being accused of and charged with the attempted murder of his wife, Grace. According to prosecutors, Keir has been abusing and neglecting his wife for 11 years – including acts of domestic violence and coercive control.
The allegations paint a dark and vivid picture of the horror Keir Johnston has put his wife through over the past decade – including a recent incident in March where he allegedly pinned his wife to the ground and started compressing her neck in an effort to kill her. Keir is denying any and all allegations against him.
Details on Keir Johnston, Who Started the Viral "Blue or Gold" Dress Debate in 2015 Arrested for Trying to Murder His Wife https://t.co/ZaAaXgjkxj pic.twitter.com/ugLo095vWu
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) July 14, 2023
Some of the horrific stories being shared by prosecutors include verbal abuse, throttling, pushing his wife against a wall, hitting his wife through the window of a car, putting his wife in a headlock, dragging his wife out of a pub, isolating his wife from friends and family, and limiting the amount of cash she has access to.
It was just eight years ago that the couple went viral on the internet and nothing seemed out of the ordinary back then. Behind the scenes, prosecutors are painting a different story after the abuse got so bad that Keir tried to kill his wife. Luckily, he didn’t succeed and Grace is alive and able to tell her story.
As of right now, a preliminary hearing isn’t expected until 2024 – so we’ll have to wait another six months (at least) to see how this one plays out.
Do You Remember When Keir Johnston Was on Ellen?
Shortly after the couple went viral on Tumblr (and soon every social media platform that existed), Keir Johnston and his family started receiving worldwide attention. With that came dozens of interviews and appearances on television, radio, and anything else you can think of – even The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Along with his wife and her friend, Caitlin McNeill, Keir Johnston sat down with Ellen DeGeneres and talked about how the meme went viral. After they explain the story, they have Grace’s mother walk out wearing the famous dress so everyone can see that it is, in fact, blue and black – not white and gold!
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Towards the end of the interview, Ellen DeGeneres gifted Keir, Caitlin, Grace, and Grace’s mother with a pair of her famous Ellen underwear. Since they left their honeymoon early to be on the show, she also gifted them a check for $10,000 and a week-long trip to the Spice Island Beach Resort in Granada.