What happened to YouTube’s famous The Ace Family? Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz were beloved family vloggers with millions of followers, then they divorced … but who’s being cringey on Snapchat?

May 17 , 2024

Catherine and Austin McBroom, the parent vloggers behind The Ace Family YouTube channel, devastated fans with news of their divorce in January. Photo: @theacefamily/Instagram

Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz, along with their 3 young children Elle, Alaïa and Steel, were once one of the most famous families on the internet with millions of followers

But things started unravelling when they began posting fewer videos in 2022 – not to mention their failed ‘Disneyland meets Coachella’ family festival and Austin’s rape accusations …

Back in 2016, the internet fell in love with the charming Ace Family, who quickly gained millions of YouTube followers thanks to their popular content about their young family.

Consisting of mum Catherine and dad Austin along with their three kids Elle, Alaïa and Steel, the McBroom family amassed over 18 million subscribers on YouTube with their viral family vlogs, internet challenges and hilarious pranks.

Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz with their children in happier times. Photo: @theacefamily/Instagram

But things changed in 2022 when the couple unexpectedly announced that it would be their last year posting videos as they wanted to focus on their family life. Their posts became less frequent and fans were left confused. The couple eventually posted their last video together in June 2023.

Clearly, all was not what it seemed off-camera. In January 2024, the McBrooms officially announced their split.

So just who is the Ace Family and what do we know about them?

Who are The Ace Family?

The Ace Family’s eldest daughter, Elle, posted this family photo in 2021 to wish her younger sister a happy birthday. Photo: @elle/Instagram

Catherine Paiz McBroom, 33, born Dolores Catherine Johnston Paiz, is originally from Montreal, Canada, where she lived with her father before moving to the States to live with her mother in Tampa, Florida. Her ex, Austin McBroom, 31, is a former basketball player from Palmdale, California, who played for teams like Central Michigan Chippewas, Campbell Hall, Saint Louis Billikens and Eastern Washington Eagles.

Per The Palm Beach Post, the couple, who started their YouTube channel a couple of months after their first daughter was born in 2016, married in a secret, private ceremony in 2017, only revealing their marital status to the public in January 2020 in a YouTube video, alongside the announcement of their third pregnancy.

The Ace Family controversies, explained

Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz posted this photo to Instagram when she was expecting the couple’s third child in 2020. Photo: @theacefamily/Instagram

The Ace Family may have won over the internet with their cute videos and photos, but plenty of scandals brewed behind the scenes. In 2019, beauty vlogger Cole Carrigan accused Austin of raping a woman in Miami – a charge he denied, according to E! News.