Alex Cooper Is Betting On IRL Events With Unwell Weekends

I’m on spring break with Alex Cooper — never mind that we’re both in our 30s. We just hopped off a pair of jet skis and are walking back to the SLS Hotel in South Beach. So far today, I’ve gotten a massage, IV drip, iced coffee, a bagel, two different flavors of Unwell Hydration, and a set of temporary tattoos. I can’t walk anywhere around the hotel without finding more free stuff, and Cooper can’t walk anywhere without being asked for selfies by the college students roaming the area in bucket hats and bedazzled Crocs. It’s all part of Cooper’s Unwell Weekend Miami, which is basically Disney World for college girls.

“This is the most insane thing,” Cooper tells me excitedly after three Daddy Gang members shout their love for her during our walk (she waves back like they’re all BFFs). “This one individual I keep talking to, she came from Italy by herself. I keep seeing her and I’m like, ‘Are you having a good time?’ She says she’s made friends.” That’s the Call Her Daddy mogul’s primary aim for the weekend. “It’s hard to make friends in your 20s. My goal is to give people the opportunity to meet normal, fun girls who want to hang and have a good time.”

Unwell Weekend Miami, which ran March 20-23, was the first multiday event hosted by Cooper and her Unwell Network. It was three full days of parties and activations, complete with open bars, live performances (Loud Luxury, Two Friends, Twinsick, and Fat Joe), fitness classes, competitions (a pong tournament with Grace O’Malley and a dunk tank with Harry Jowsey), and crafting stations (a Y2K tramp stamp booth with Owen Thiele).

Unwell Network creators came along for the ride, as did reality stars like Rachael Kirkconnell, Tyler Cameron, and Jesse Solomon. Guests were offered the option to attend single events for $25 each or purchase a VIP package including a hotel stay and unlimited access to activities.

For anyone with FOMO, Cooper shares exclusively that this is just the beginning — there are “more Unwell Weekends” on the horizon. Unwell is currently planning additional events throughout the year, including a Fourth of July experience.

It’s something Cooper believes young people are looking for. “People think Gen Z doesn’t want to go out and is just on their phones,” she says. “But you see all of these college kids coming out and wanting to be in person with us. They want to go to live events.” She also loves interacting with the Daddy Gang IRL. “I have a two-way street with my audience, and clearly it’s paid off because I literally feel like these women are like my sisters.”

“People think Gen Z doesn’t want to go out and is just on their phones ... but you see all of these college kids coming out and wanting to be in person with us.”

Next on deck for Cooper — other than more Unwell Weekends — is a dating reality show, Overboard for Love, which she’s producing for Hulu. “I was overwhelmed by how many people are so excited about this,” she says of the announcement earlier this month. “I am obsessed with reality TV. I binge-watch it to the point where my husband is like, ‘You have a problem.’ And I figured, why not put it into something that I can help produce?”

The series will feature a group of singles on a luxury yacht, and Cooper teases that the plot will include surprise elements. “The beauty of when you first launch a show is the format,” she says. “We all remember Too Hot to Handle, where all these hot people showed up, and then it was like, ‘You can’t touch each other.’ There are going to be certain dynamics we’re throwing into play.”

The show held an open casting call during Unwell Weekend Miami, and Cooper says they’re actively recruiting future stars. “I want to be as involved in the process as I possibly can,” she says. “I had an Unwell talent recently come up to me and be like, ‘Could I go on the show?’ I was like, ‘Well, yeah, probably.’ It’s through personal connections, casting here, and there will also be casting agents. We’ll go through tapes and figure out the best people to bring the show to life.”

Fans can stay tuned for their chance to get more Unwell this year, either by auditioning for the show or attending the next event. With Cooper and her network sharing glimpses into this past weekend’s festivities, excitement for future IRL gatherings is already building. “Everyone in my DMs is like, ‘I have more FOMO than I thought. What the f*ck?’” Cooper says. “We’ve never done something to this scale, and people are seeing it on social media being like, ‘Whoa, that’s what they were throwing?’ Another one will happen, and people can come to the next one.” She’s also eager for Round 2. “It’s like we’re all on vacation together. It feels like we’re in a big sorority, which I’m not mad about.”