Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz from the popular family vlogging channel The ACE Family shocked the world on Jan. 11 when they announced their divorce after seven years of marriage.
The couple has been creating daily vlogs of their three children, along with prank and challenge videos, since 2016. However, the family has also been involved in several controversies, including multiple lawsuits and McBroom giving his child a lollipop from a sex shop.
As an outsider, the couple seemed inseparable, an ideal family despite their online mistakes. I never would’ve expected them to get a divorce. Their Instagram pages are flooded with smiling family photos and extravagant trips — I wouldn’t have guessed it was falling apart behind the scenes.
Since the divorce announcement, McBroom has taken to Snapchat to vlog his random activities on his story. TikTok users have turned his meltdowns and conversations into memes. Though the memes are hilarious, I don’t agree with what he’s doing.
On Feb. 6, I opened my Snapchat to see McBroom — a fully grown man — sitting outside the mall, scooping lemonade and horchata into red Solo Cups with his bare hands inside five-gallon jugs.
McBroom decided to do this in the pouring rain, wearing socks and sandals, a tan jacket and a cowboy hat. He begged people just trying to go about their day to donate to his fundraiser for himself. Knowing he probably doesn’t need the money makes it extremely uncomfortable to watch.
While making the lemonade, he cut the lemons with scissors and dumped in a ton of sugar, clearly showing he was not doing this seriously, but rather for entertainment value. I find it pathetic that he is acting like he needs this money when there are other people out there who could actually use it.
This “poor person” act seems to be a common trend for McBroom — that same week, after getting into an argument with a CVS employee, he mocked people in the service industry. He pretended to be apologetic and posted a video of himself interviewing for a position at the corporation. McBroom is making millions, so I believe he does not actually have any plans to work at CVS.
McBroom has also claimed he has been living in an RV in his now ex-wife’s backyard. However, Paiz denied that McBroom was staying on her property. So, while he is likely staying somewhere else, he has continued to film from the RV — which he still manages to flex on viewers like it’s a mansion.
He has been acting like he has nowhere to live, and posted on Jan. 30 about temporarily moving in with DDG and Halle Bailey. DDG and McBroom made a song together about him missing Paiz, though, so it seems like it’s just part of his act.
I do think this is mostly for views and money, especially when Snapchat influencers make anywhere from $500 to $10,000 per post, according to Shopify.com. At the same time, if this divorce is real — and it seems like it is to me — this could also be a way for McBroom to distract himself from the situation.
I also wonder if there were money troubles that contributed to their divorce. In 2021, the couple’s $10 million mansion was foreclosed, but they claimed they were scammed by a contractor.
There is also speculation that the reason for divorce is the possibility of McBroom cheating on Paiz. Influencer Tana Mongeau claimed he cheated back in 2021, but McBroom has denied this accusation.
I don’t believe that the divorce could be as mutual as the couple has claimed on Instagram for them to make such a drastic change to their lives, especially with children involved.
I do feel for both Paiz and McBroom, who have had their careers and marriage destroyed in front of millions. Paiz has been posting with her friends, and — from what I can tell — seems happy compared to McBroom. For the sake of their kids, I hope McBroom stops posting these gimmicky Snapchats so everyone can heal and move on from the situation.
