What happened to Markiplier’s father? All about parents as YouTuber marries longtime girlfriend

American YouTube star, filmmaker, actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer Markiplier married his longtime girlfriend, Amy Nelson, on September 20, 2025, after being together for over a decade. He announced the wedding on October 7, 2025, via an Instagram post.

“10 years and counting. Going to go for the world record or die trying. 9/20/2025,” the caption read.

The post comprised two images of Markiplier and Amy Nelson in their wedding attire. One showed them enjoying their wedding cake together, while another had them smiling at one another.

Markiplier, whose real name is Mark Edward Fishbach, was 19 years old when his father, Cliffton Morris Fischbach Jr, died from lung cancer in 2008.

Mark’s mother is Sunok Frank, better known as Momiplier. She is the ex-wife of Cliffton Morris Fischbach Jr. The newlywed YouTuber also has a brother named Thomas, who is a famous comic book writer and artist, best known as the creator of the online comic series Twokinds.

---

All you need to know about Markiplier’s parents

Cliffton Morris Fischbach Jr. was a United States Army officer for two and a half decades. Later, he became a layout artist for a book company. According to Markiplier’s Wiki Fandom, Cliffton was born on June 8, 1941, in Louisville, Kentucky, to German immigrant parents: U.S. Army colonel Cliffton Morris Fischbach Sr. and his wife, Flora Marie Doom Fischbach.

Markiplier’s dad had two sisters: Sheilah Keppler and Jennifer Fischbach, as well as a half-sister named Margaret Jane Fischbach. He graduated from high school in 1959. When Cliffton Fischbach was stationed in South Korea during the Korean War, he met Sunok Frank.

Later, they moved to the USA and tied the knot. They went on to have two children, Markiplier and Thomas, and they were raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon, the couple got divorced.

Sunok Frank, born in March 1964, is of Korean descent, but moved to the U.S. at the age of 21. She is often referred to as Momiplier by the YouTuber and his fans. Sunok owns six dogs, Maggie, Lussy, Bubble, Jonny, Tommy, and Bell, and also runs a YouTube channel called Momiplier's Kitchen with 276K subscribers. The retired nurse married Larry Frank in 2000 and was with him until he died in 2022.

Cliffton remarried a woman named Dee Varholak, with whom he had three more children: David, Elizabeth, and Susan. Markiplier once called his stepmother,

“the nicest person we’ve ever met.”

The YouTuber called his dad his “greatest hero” and his mom his "biggest fan." Cliffton Fischbach was also a gun enthusiast and built muzzleloader rifles during his pastime. A member of the National Rifle Association, he even taught his sons how to use firearms.

In 2007, Cliffton Fischbach was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and died a year later on July 4, 2008, at his home in Milford, Ohio. He was put to rest at the Evergreen Cemetery in Miamiville, Ohio.

In the aftermath of his father’s demise, the Honolulu-born LA resident revealed that Cliffton got himself a tattoo below his left shoulder to mark his military career. He inked the words “Honor, Duty, Courage” alongside that of a bald eagle bearing the American flag. Back then, the online personality mentioned that if he were to ever get a tattoo, it would be the same one as his dad.

In the video game, Doom Eternal, a fictional book titled How to Comb Your Moustache by Cliffton M. Fischbach can be seen in the bookcase. The late Army vet also has an Easter egg in his name. It is a tribute to Markiplier’s father after he did a promotional video with Hugo Martin, where the YouTuber told Martin that it was his father who introduced him to gaming, and Doom was the first game he ever played.

---

Mark Fishbach currently has 37.8 subscribers on his Markiplier YouTube channel. He is also active on other social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Cloak, and Reddit. In his YouTube bio, the game commentator mentions making

“quality content to meme-able garbage, from scary games to full-on interactive movies.”

The 36-year-old has over 5000 videos on horror games, funny games, comedy sketches, animations, compilations, reactions, reviews, challenges, cryptic lore, mind-crippling ennui, and tear-jerking stuff. Earlier, Mark, who rose to fame in 2012, used to run the now-defunct Unus Annus channel on YouTube.

Mark has also voiced the Cartoon Network character 5.0.5 in the series Villainous and is a partner and creative director of Cloak alongside fellow YouTuber Pokimane.