Drake is taking the Pinkchyu romance to the next level — and we mean literally to a full-size castle.
Drake flew Pinkchyu north of the border this past week and rented out Casa Loma — Toronto’s massive, nearly 200,000-square-foot castle — for the occasion. Not just a room. The whole. Castle. The 98-room landmark was shut down except for a server, bartender, and security — leaving Drake and Pinkchyu to enjoy sushi with the sprawling castle basically to themselves. Sushi in a castle. Only the 6 God moves.
This is wild because it’s only been two weeks since Pinkchyu was the winner of Drake’s viral “20-v-1” dating challenge, where she famously got Drizzy to bark like a dog on command. The TikTok moment went viral instantly — millions of people laughed at the sight of Drake literally barking on camera — and suddenly a goth content creator named Lin Lamar was household. But Drake didn’t just slide into her DMs like some thirsty regular. He stayed in character as a generous suitor, moving FAST.
Let’s rewind. Pinkchyu is the online moniker of influencer and model Lin Lamar. She currently has over 2 million followers on both Instagram and TikTok. Before the Drake dating show, she was known for her goth aesthetic, her cosplay, and her OnlyFans presence — the typical TikTok rise-to-fame pipeline. Then the Nelk YouTube channel decided to give Drake a dating show, and Pinkchyu entered as one of 20 contestants. As her prize for winning, Drake offered to buy Pinkchyu’s mother a house, a claim that she’s since said Drake is following up on. And within days, Drake is pulling out all the stops for his “goth baddie” Pinkchyu … flying her to Toronto and taking over an entire castle for their latest date.
Meanwhile, Pinkchyu is building her music career in parallel. In 2026, Pinkchyu also dropped her first two singles, the songs “Electric Invasion” and “Back To Life.” So while Drake’s renting castles and pledging house purchases, she’s pivoting into music. Smart play — ride the virality into a whole artist pipeline.
What makes this story mad is the contrast to Drake’s post-2024 persona. After Kendrick Lamar dismantled him in the summer beef, Drake went ghost on the dating scene. No paparazzi pics, no cryptic Instagram stories, no TMZ scoops about mystery women. For a guy whose love life used to dominate tabloid pages, the silence was LOUD. He refocused on his son Adonis, his music (Iceman just dropped), and his Toronto roots. Then all of a sudden — BOOM — he’s on a dating show barking for internet points, buying someone’s mom a house, and renting out historic landmarks.
Some in the culture are reading this as Drake having fun again, lightening up, showing he doesn’t take himself too seriously post-beef. Others see it as performative clownery designed to flip the narrative: instead of being the guy Kendrick exposed, he’s now the guy who can laugh at himself, who takes wins in stride, who supports creators. The castle rental? That’s flex energy.
Pinkchyu’s profile has exploded, her OF subscriptions are reportedly through the roof post-virality, and she’s got two songs out. Drake gets to look like he’s living his best life, unbothered, generous, still the coolest guy in the room even when he’s on his hands and knees barking. And Casa Loma got the most expensive, most publicized private rental in Toronto history.
The 16BARS take: Drake didn’t just win a dating show — he turned it into a whole PR reset. The castle, the house promise, the speed — it’s not romance, it’s strategy. And Pinkchyu’s playing the game smart enough to know the difference.
