Raquel Benitah had never watched Hulu’s Secret Loves of Mormon Wives, but when she heard about the “dirty soda” trend on TikTok, inspired by the show — in which people mix soda with flavored syrups and creams — she knew she wanted to try it.
The 26-year-old from Toronto drove to her favorite McDonald’s to pick up a Diet Coke, which she planned to mix with a Fairlife protein shake. As she went through the drive-thru, she decided to document the process on video. When she reached the first window, the McDonald’s employee, later identified as Markelya Skelly, noticed the camera.
“She saw my camera and asked, ‘Are you vlogging?’ She had such a positive attitude, and her energy was incredible,” Benitah tells PEOPLE exclusively, recalling how they instantly bonded over the dirty soda trend.
After getting her Diet Coke and making the dirty soda, Benitah posted the video on TikTok. But instead of focusing on reviewing the soda, she shared the sweet moment of her connection with Skelly, 23, even though she didn’t know anything about her at the time.
“I decided to post the video, and it went viral,” she says, referring to her TikTok, which has since garnered 12.8 million views. “Then I did a part two, where I went to the grocery store, bought her a bunch of snacks, a gift card, and the Fairlife protein shake so she could make the dirty soda herself. But when I went back to McDonald’s to find her, she wasn’t there.”
“It created a fun story for people to follow,” Benitah adds. “I went back a third time because I had to find her. I went through the drive-thru, and there she was — we both freaked out. At that point, the video had hit 6 million views. So we exchanged names, and she messaged me on social media. Since then, we’ve developed a beautiful friendship.”
Markelya Skelly and Raquel Benitah holding up McDonald’s.
Raquel Benitah
Speaking to PEOPLE, Skelly says that before officially connecting with Benitah, she first came across the viral video when a work friend sent it to her. The colleague had been scrolling on TikTok and recognized her in the clip. Within an hour of receiving it, the video blew up, and her manager and corporate reached out to her.
Skelly shares that the day this interaction unfolded, she had been in a “crummy” mood. But after talking to Benitah, her spirits were instantly lifted for the rest of the day. Since then, Skelly and Benitah’s interactions have included going out to lunch and making plans to attend the local Christmas market together.
“It has been so fun and so beautiful,” Skelly says. “I’m actually so excited for our next hangout, which is soon. It’s going to be fun. We’re just two girls in our 20s.”
“My mom always tells me that just being friendly to someone can change your life or just being friendly can be the differences in someone’s day,” she adds.
For Benitah, she adds that as she’s gotten older, it’s become harder to make new friends. As a content creator, she often spends time alone in her office. So, for her to have formed this unexpected friendship with someone she likely would have never crossed paths with has been incredible.
“A lot of times, people automatically have a negative association with being filmed or a camera, which I totally understand,” she says. “But just Markelya flipping the situation into something so positive and having a bouncy, fun energy — I could tell she was around my age, in her 20s, and we just matched each other’s vibe. I don’t really know how to explain it.”
“It’s been really, really fun to just connect with her and her energy and everyone can see it from the video,” she adds. “She’s just like a bright light and she comes off very shy but she has such a fun personality and it’s been just really great.”
