The woman behind possibly the most viral video of 2024 has revealed she wished she leaned into her new-found success sooner.

Haliey Welch rose to fame earlier this year after a “on the street” style interview where she used the term “hawk tuah” to describe a sex act.

She said, “Love you, Pookie,” as she walked away with her friend, Chelsea. The two friends kept a low profile for a couple of weeks while people everywhere searched online to learn more about the 21-year-old woman from Tennessee.

It wasn’t until she was a guest on Bri LaPaglia’s podcast, Life of Bri, where she revealed the story behind the iconic moment, and later surprised everyone by joining LaPaglia’s boyfriend, country singer Zach Bryan, on stage, breaking her silence.

Her popularity skyrocketed after that, making her the darling of the American summer. She capitalized on her newfound fame by making appearances on various podcasts, festivals, online shows, and using her success to give back by donating money and food to animal shelters.

Now, in the first episode of her Betr podcast, Talk Tuah, Ms Welch revealed that hiding from the world was a decision she now regretted.

She said it was “crazy” that she said two words and now she’d had all these opportunities.

“I wish I had jumped on it sooner though,” she said, discussing her new-found fame.

“I was scared to come out of my house for the first two weeks — me and [Chelsea] both. We locked ourselves in the bedroom.”

Ms Welch also gave details about the infamous “Pookie” — someone she has never named or shown in any of her social media content.

Her guest for episode one, Whitney Cummins, asked Ms Welch if she was dating anyone or if she was on the dating apps.

“Hell no, I ain’t on the apps. Stay away from me, men scare me. Pookie’s still in the picture, he just took me on a date,” Ms Welch revealed.

Ms Welch said she and the 24-year-old construction worker had been “on and off” for three years but the pair only started to get serious a few months ago.

Ms Cummins said it was probably for the best that they hadn’t gone on an official first date yet while Ms Welch is still settling into her new-found success.

Ms Welch recently appeared on the debut episode on Summer House star West Wilson’s dating show West Date Ever.

Mr West took Ms Welch on a romantic fishing date in Nashville, Tennessee, and he was quick to ask about how she feels about her internet fame.

“Are you OK with the name Hawk Tuah,” he asked her.

She was quick to respond, saying; “We’re trying to step away from it.”

“You want to be Haliey?”

She said yes, she wanted to be Haliey and not “Mrs Hawk”.

Mr West then asked what she planned to do once her viral fame “died down” and she revealed she’s been approached about starting podcasts or even appearing on reality television.

However, some have claimed that the 22-year-old’s 15 minutes of fame are already up after a video began to circulate of her at Rock The South Festival in Alabama last month.

Ms Welch was invited on stage in a bid to hype up the crowd before the performer — Warren Zeiders and Jelly Roll — was set to hit the stage.

However, video footage showed Ms Welch shout; “Let’s here for Warren Zeiders and Jelly Roll!”

She then squealed but the audience was unimpressed — with no one matching her energy and screaming back. The hosts then thanked Ms Welch for her time and she left the stage.

People were not kind to Ms Welch in the comment section, with one claiming her “15 minutes [of fame] were up”.