An ‘accidental influencer’ has been crowned Australia’s most loved social media star.

Bridey Drake won TikTok Creator of the Year at the 2024 Awards in Sydney Wednesday evening.

The 23-year-old has amassed over 3.2 million followers on TikTok by documenting her hilariously relatable experiences navigating young adulthood in Australia.

Her videos detail the highs and lows of starting her own small business, Night Sweet Thing, fresh out of high school with her best friend Jiny Maeng at the height of the pandemic, as well as the duo’s move from New South Wales to the outback.

Now, Bridey’s usual escapades – including going viral for her lack of cooking skills in videos like ‘What the heck is an ounce?’ — took the coveted prize.

True to form, the petite blonde detailed her awards prep experience on social media while suffering from a bumpy pink sunburn.

“Looks like we won,” she began her video montage of the day’s events.

Social media star Bridey Drake, 23, named Australian TikTok Creator of the Year at the 2024 Awards

Bridey has amassed over 3.2 million followers on TikTok documenting her hilariously relatable experiences navigating young adulthood in Australia

Bridey’s TikToks detail the highs and lows of starting her own small business fresh out of high school, Night Sweet Thing, with her best friend Jiny Maeng (pictured) during the height of the pandemic.

“I started by walking the pink carpet and doing a bunch of interviews. I wasn’t feeling my best. I felt like I wasn’t on my A-game because I had a tan and a strapless dress.

“At this stage of the day I had no idea I was going to win at all,” Bridey recounted footage of herself sweltering through the Sydney heatwave.

“I took this white top and put it underneath,” she explained, as she pulled on a long-sleeved lace shirt to hide her fresh sunburn lines.

“My best friend Jiny knows everyone, she’s the best. I love the TikTok awards, I’ve been four years in a row now. Also, Robert (Irwin) came out with a snake and scared everyone.

Her camera panned to show Robert surprising and delighting the crowd of influencers with a live python, which he escorted around the tables for a date.

“And then there was the moment when they announced my name (as the winner). Jiny shouted. I cried. My cousin cried. It was the wildest experience of my life. I actually stopped on stage, I have no idea what I said during my speech, I was so nervous.

Bridey is the fourth Aussie to win TikTok’s top gong since the social media awards began in 2021, following Mille Ford, Kat Clark and, most recently, “chaotic” mother-of-three Indy Clinton.

Keeping fit, the petite blonde detailed her experience preparing for the awards, which took place in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Bridey said receiving TikTok’s top results was “the wildest experience of my life”

Bridey, who moves between outback NSW and the Central Coast, opened her TikTok account in 2021 to save her small business from being destroyed by Covid restrictions.

“It’s such a huge honour, winning this award means so much as TikTok has played a huge role in where I am today. Everything I’ve achieved as a creator and business owner has been possible because of this incredible platform,’ Bridey said in his speech.

“Also, I am so grateful to my amazing TikTok community that has been with me since this journey began.

“I can’t wait to keep creating, connecting and sharing. Thanks to everyone who voted for me.’

Bridey, who moves between outback NSW and the Central Coast, started her TikTok account in 2021 to save her pajama business from collapsing when she could no longer work in local markets.

After sharing the situation on the popular social media platform, stock of Night Sweet Thing sold out in five days and Bridey’s face soon became known to thousands of Australians through the app’s FYP (For You Page) algorithm.

Within a few months, the business earned $10,000, with 85% of that profit coming from sharing videos on TikTok.

Since then, she has created several “niches” for herself on TikTok based on her adorable friendship with her Korean best friend and business partner, whom she met in elementary school.

“My first TikTok about Jiny was a bit silly,” Bridey previously told ABC.

“I posted that my best friend lived on the other side of the world in Korea, when in fact she only lived an hour away. And it went viral.

BFF videos show them messing with each other and often getting into “petty fights,” emphasizing the depth and importance of our platonic friendships and how they mirror other relationships in our lives.

Picture all the winners of the 2024 TikTok Awards

Jiny eventually launched her own TikTok account and that too took off.

“If we hadn’t met, I think our lives would be so different. Jiny has helped me with my life in so many ways,” said Bridey.

“She really taught me how to stand up for myself more and be more confident in who I am.

“We have such a brotherly bond and we both only have siblings, so we need that in each other.”

Other nominees for Creator of the Year 2024 were Elle Ray (@elleray), Jonah Singer (@jojoasmr), Josh Jessup & Matt Moss (@joshandmattdesign) and Maddy Macrae (@maddy_macrae_).