Bee & Lin: Always-laughing Lewes ladies a worldwide hit

“Lin, I was wondering.”

And liftoff. That line is rocket fuel for laughter from Bee & Lin. The married couple has become social media stars, with millions of views on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

Think of Bee & Lin as a comedy duo like Abbott & Costello or Martin & Lewis. Bee delivers the jokes; Lin has the priceless reactions.

Here is one example from a recent video:

Bee: “So, I was wondering.”

Lin: “Yes?”

Bee: “If a drummer comes out of retirement, are there repercussions?”

Lin: “Oh, God help me.”

Bee & Lin are Belinda Buras and Linda Simeone.

Bee was born in New Orleans, while Lin is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. They met when they were both working in the Philadelphia suburbs.

They both retired in 2014 and moved to Lewes full time three years later.

“We met through business, then we became best friends, then it became a relationship,” Bee said.

The laughter started immediately and hasn’t stopped in 20 years.

When it comes to their videos, their studio is their kitchen counter, back deck or their car.

“They’re stupid, corny, silly jokes, but her reactions, comments, feedback, that’s an honest reaction. It’s a combination that works,” Bee said.

A video they made during a winery tour in the Finger Lakes in 2020 turned them into TikTok stars.

“We were on our fourth winery and we were giddy. She started this story and it was so funny,” Lin said.

Bee: “I got an email the other day from my Australian friend.”

Lin: “You don’t have any friends in Australia.”

Bee: “Yeah, she said she took her final exam, but she failed it. I said, ‘Didgeridoo it?’”

Lin: “What? I don’t get it.”

Bee was talking about a didgeridoo, a traditional Australian wind instrument.

She said, the moment she posted it on TikTok, it took off.

“Somebody called and said, ‘You’re not just viral, you’re trending like a celebrity.’ We didn’t know. We’re like, is that a good thing?” Bee said. “To this day, that video has 10 million views.”

Bee said all of their videos are family-friendly. They insist that not all are fueled by wine.  

“We rarely drink at home,” Bee said. “But people seem to like tipsy Lin.”

Since that landmark video, they have received comments from people all over the world, including South Africa, New Zealand and Finland. They said most simply thank them for the laughs.

Bee & Lin said they are not looking for fame. “I would just like to be on Jimmy Fallon,” Lin confessed.

But the couple did have their 15 minutes, or more like 5 seconds, of fame on national TV. They appeared in a Pzfier commercial for RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus. The tag line was, “Laughter is contagious; so is RSV.”

“We game them permission to use the video, but we didn’t hear for months. We figured we didn’t make the cut,” Bee said. 

She said they were watching TV one night when her phone started blowing up.

“It was my brother. He said he had just seen us in the commercial. We had no clue it was being broadcast,” Bee said.

The couple is getting recognized by people here, just by their infectious laughter. 

“We were at Beebe Imaging, at one of the booths checking in. A woman came around the corner and said, ‘I knew that was you. I could tell by your voice,’” Bee said. 

Bee & Lin are readers and big fans of the Cape Gazette, often mentioning the paper in their videos. But, she admitted, none of the references are real.

“What inspires me in the Cape Gazette? Nothing,” Bee laughed. “It’s all made up.”

There was one time, only one time, during the Cape Gazette interview when the laughter stopped. Bee got emotional when she talked about the reason why they don’t plan to stop making their videos anytime soon.

“So many people say, ‘You have no idea how much I needed this laugh, because I just got diagnosed with cancer’ or ‘I’m having a tough time with chemo.’ Our mission is to provide a little joy and laughter to take people away from everything they’re going through in life. That’s what drives me, making a difference in someone’s life,” Bee said.

Lin is a cancer survivor and can attest that laughter is the best medicine.

“I always told my kids, make sure you marry somebody that makes you laugh. Bee is not only kind, she also has a great personality and is always funny,” Lin said.

In true Bee & Lin fashion, leave ‘em laughing.

Bee: “You know, Lin, I was starting to write some jokes about the wind.”

Lin: “The wind?”

Bee: “Yes, the wind. But it’s still just a draft.”

Find Bee & Lin on TikTok and Instagram at @beeandlin.