Somerset TikTok Mom Went From Jobless to Viral in Just One Year

Allow me to introduce to you one of the most entertaining moms on the SouthCoast, Somerset's Nicki Maher.

You might know her better from her viral TikTok videos under the username "nickiunplugged" where she swigs back Dunkin' on a daily basis and raises her children as a single mom. Maher is known for her unfiltered and contagious attitude and says things that most moms are thinking, but are too shy to admit.

With almost two million followers alone on her TikTok, Maher is leading the "MomTok" game strong, but before her social media fame, she had a totally different life and job.

"I was a brand strategist and developer, where I would help founders and thought leaders develop their brand and content campaigns," Maher said. "Before that, I was a corporate senior executive, but then COVID hit and I lost my last clients. That's when I decided to go on TikTok to learn the app, and it took off."

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As a mom to 7-year-old Leila and 5-year-old Chace, Maher's relatable content skyrocketed. It was a platform to let loose, without makeup or fancy attire, where moms everywhere could connect.

"I always try to support small and local businesses the best I can," Maher said. "All while just being natural and myself. What you see is what you get."

Raising two kids on her own, you never know what's going to happen, and while recording a video for her TikTok one day, her son stole the spotlight and helped Maher climb to the top of the game with over 80 million views. Keep in mind that this video is NSFW, so it might be helpful to lower your volume first:

Among the masses of people who liked this video were celebrities such as Jason Derulo, but it also got some backlash from other parents who enjoy critiquing others.

"It was so innocent and people were making it out to be so negative," Maher explained. "It wasn't until a year afterward that I realized you have to ignore the online trolls and haters. There's not a full story to an eight-second clip and that's what bothered me the most. A majority of my stuff is about motherhood and how it's not perfect. The most beautiful form of being a mom is imperfection."

Although she gets perks left and right from companies around the country, she most enjoys being able to share organic parts of her daily life. Something as simple as getting a coffee from Dunkin' resonates strongly with SouthCoast moms.

"Dunkin' eventually caught on, took notice and made me a part of their ambassador team," Maher said. "I've met some amazing new friends along the way, and it sounds strange, but strangers can sometimes be your best support system. Between divorce or motherhood and difficult aspects of life, they're there for me the most."

Maher is currently contemplating going full-time with her new social media career.

"I'm uneasy; to make a commitment to leave and not go back to my old corporate job, it's risky," Maher said. "You don't know what the next year will bring, and that's a scary place to be in. So I need to make a decision to either go all in or take a different path. It's like a relationship and I'm getting ready to take a leap of faith to full-time as a relatable entertainer. Whatever that means for the future, I love it, and I get to be creative."

From affordable outfit tutorials to her infamous "drunken Dunkin'" recipes, Ms. Unplugged represents many moms out there. Even though I'm not a mom and I can't entirely relate, I'm still here for the content.