SITTING on the floor of a luxury hotel room applying her make-up while on yet another glam brand trip with her best friend, Anastasia Kingsnorth should have been the happiest girl on the planet.
She recently became a bestselling author, boasts over 1million followers online and has finally bagged herself a superhot boyfriend, but insiders tell us that a simmering tension with fellow star has sparked unease in her camp – and there’s a very surprising reason behind it.
Fans have questioned the dynamic between Saffron Barker and Anastasia Kingsnorth for some timeCredit: Fay Leyfield
There’s been ‘a real shift’ between between the pair in recent months, reveals an insiderCredit: Getty
Anastasia is enjoying huge success as an influencer and YouTube starCredit: Getty
Her most recent video with Saffron – filmed during a trip to Menorca – raised eyebrows amongst those watching at home.
The once-close pair seemed more out of sync than ever before, and viewers were left feeling sorry for Anastasia, claiming that Saffron was stealing the limelight and making barbed comments.
Indeed, at times in the video, as they get ready for a night out, Saffron can be heard singing over Ana as she chats to the camera.
Ana is really coming into her own – she doesn’t need Saffron any more
At another moment, the girls are talking about make-up and Saffron moans: “I wish I could change my whole face with make-up.”
As Ana chimes in, saying she wished the same too, Saffron quickly hit back: “You already do.”
It may have seemed an innocuous moment between the pair, but some viewers felt it came across cruelly and Saffron was branded “passive-aggressive”.
An insider said: “On the surface, things look pretty much the same between Saffron and Ana, but there has been a real shift in recent months.
“It feels like Ana has found her voice for the first time and is really coming into her own – she doesn’t need Saffron any more.
“It was always Saffron and then Ana hanging on, but she has her own fans, own ideas and own success now.”
Things reached a head when Ana started her new man – Joe Boyd – and the besties really started to drift apart.
They continued: “The adjustment has been tricky for Saffron, and friends say it felt like a kick in the teeth when Ana got a boyfriend and there was so much interest in him.
“Unlike Saffron’s boyfriend, Joe is a normal guy, and fans have loved trying to find out more about him because he hasn’t been plastered all over socials.
“It’s the first time Saffron has truly felt like Ana has overtaken her, and that it is a hard pill to swallow.”
The pair have continued to hang out – on camera at least and have been attending the same brand trips and influencer events.
Anastasia headed to Paris to celebrate her 25th birthday with her boyfriend Joe Boyd
The YouTuber has never been happier after finding love
But Ana’s videos have been peppered with comments calling out Saffron, with one person branding her “low key jealous”, while another described her as having a “superior complex”.
One fan told us: “You can really hear the subtle digs masked as compliments all the time, it’s actually quite uncomfortable to watch.”
It’s not the first time questions have been raised over the pair’s friendship. Even as far back as 2020 there were doubts about how well they really got on.
‘Uncomfortable to watch’
The pair became friends over nine years ago when Ana commented on one of Saff’s videos and they decided to start making content together.
They worked well as a duo, with Saffron often taking the lead, but as time went on – like with many friendships – they started to grow apart.
At one point, they launched a podcast together, but that was shrouded in controversy as it was revealed they had simply taken it over from another star – celebrity chef Gizzi Erskine.
Anastasia’s mum Julie Stanton is also a YouTuber these daysCredit: YouTube
Saffron and Anastasia met through YouTube and their friendship grewCredit: Getty
Gizzi said she was “shocked and horrified” when she realised her show Sex, Lies & DM Slides had been ‘stolen’ by and the YouTubers.
At the time, in 2022, Saffron gushed: “We have been waiting nearly 6 years for a project together and this is finally it, still doesn’t feel real actually writing this!!”
Two years later, out of the blue, they announced the show was coming to an end – leaving fans shocked.
Ana’s rags to riches story
But Anastasia’s career has gone from strength to strength – she’s got more followers than ever before across all platforms and released a book that became a Sunday Times bestseller.
Plus, she’s become the go-to girl picked for paid ads with some of the world’s biggest brands.
She was just 11 when she started posting, and slowly but surely she’s worked her way up.
The star, whose mum is also a YouTuber now, previously said of her childhood: “Before I did YouTube, we didn’t have a lot of money at all. We didn’t live a very fortunate life, even though my mum always did the absolute best, and we didn’t have a lot at all.
The pair have been very close since meeting online and even did a podcast togetherCredit: Splash
Anastasia often now does things without Saffron by her sideCredit: Getty
“I remember because I was filming on my laptop, I was begging my mum because I needed something else to film on, and she worked so hard to get me that iPad.
“She got it in a paid monthly contract because we just couldn’t afford to buy it outright.”
She’s come a long way from her early days online and is about to buy her dream car – in cash.
And as Anastasia celebrated her 25th birthday with a romantic trip to Paris last week, she might want to start paying close attention to the people who don’t clap when she wins.
Saffron with boyfriend Josh Miln, who is also big onlineCredit: Instagram / @saffronbarker
Saffron appeared on Strictly and boasts 1.7m followers on InstagramCredit: Alamy 
