Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz—a.k.a. the ACE Family patriarch and matriarch—have become two of the most successful (and highest-earning) YouTubers on the planet. Since they first started sharing their lives on platform in 2016, the duo has amassed more than 19 million subscribers and reportedly earns quite a pretty penny from their videos. But just how did this famous family come to be? Here’s a deep dive into the McBrooms’ incredible YouTube career.
How Did Austin McBroom And The ACE Family Get Famous?
Before they met, Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz were well on their way to finding fame individually. Born in North Hollywood, California, on May 20, 1992, Austin McBroom was a former NCAA basketball star who had played for Saint Louis, Central Michigan, and Eastern WashingtonUniversities.
Catherine Paiz, who was born in Montreal on August 24th, 1990, was a successful model who had worked with brands like Victoria’s Secret and Azzelia Swimwear. And she knew she wanted to be an influencer in some form since she was a kid.
“I never thought I’d be where I am today in general,” she said in one of her YouTube videos. “I did, however, know that eventually in my life, I would be doing something involving speaking like, on camera, having an influence. I always knew that my entire life, but I never knew how it would come.”
Paiz and McBroom already had decent social media followings on their own. But once they met, started dating, and decided to combine their social star power, there was no stopping the camera-friendly couple. Together, they created a YouTube channel and started vlogging about their daily lives. After having their first child, in 2016, they branded themselves as the ACE Family, which came from the first letters of each family member—Auston, Catherine, and their new daughter, Elle.
The channel has become incredibly popular in a relatively short amount of time. It hit the 1 million subscriber mark in 2017—the same year the couple got engaged—and was up to 14 million subscribers by December of 2018. The McBroom’s had two more children— Alaia in 2018 and Steel in 2020—and continued to share their precious family moments with the world.
But there was one family milestone that the couple decided to keep private. In 2020, Paiz revealed that she and McBroom had secretly married two years earlier.
“Although we have publicly shared some special moments throughout the years…our marriage was not one of them,” she wrote on Twitter. “We got married a couple years ago in private in our backyard. We look forward to having our ceremony in the future where our parents, friends and family will attend.”
Controversies Involving The ACE Family
For all of their popularity, the ACE Family has also faced some serious scrutiny on a number of different occasions. In early 2019, a creepy video surfaced on Twitter of Austin McBroom taking a toddler (not one of his own) into a sex shop and buying her a penis-shaped lollipop. That same month, the couple were heavily criticized for concentrating on their new app and merchandising opportunities, which led to accusations of tricking fans into buying paid content.
While those controversies eventually subsided, McBroom found himself in hot water once again just a few months later when makeup artist and fellow YouTuber Cole Carrigan publicly accused him of sexually assaulting a friend. McBroom vehemently denied the accusation, describing himself as a “a victim of extortion, defamation and slander.”
The following year, it was Paiz’s turn to face controversy. YouTube star, Jake Paul, accused her of sliding into his DMs behind McBroom’s back. While Paul produced no proof of the claim, fans immediately pounced on Paiz and accused her of cheating. But the ACE Family mom denied the it, writing: “Respectfully, anyone with a brain knows that’s not true” in an Instagram story.
If that weren’t enough, in June of 2020, fans were outraged when Austin McBroom slapped the butt of his four-year-old-daughter, Elle, in a what they perceived to be a suggestive and inappropriate way. Given the phallic lollipop incident that had occurred the year before, viewers began suggesting McBroom was a pedophile.
— TAM DEOBI ERA (@MINGEY00NGI) July 19, 2020tw// pedophilia
this is so disturbing and the way his daughter put her hand in front of his to stop him from doing it again is heartbreaking. deplatform the ace family and throw austin & catherine mcbroom in jail NOW pic.twitter.com/exma6E6cD0
Most recently, the ACE Family came under fire for launching a poorly-run premium members-only platform that had to be shut down. Called the ACE Club, the website gave subscribers access to exclusive content for $2.99 per month. But the platform was plagued with problems that made it impossible for fans to get their money’s worth. Fans received refunds once the platform flopped, and McBroom blamed the web developers for all the issues.
What Is The ACE Family Net Worth?
Despite the occasional scandal, the ACE Family continues to make big money with their popular YouTube channel. According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, Austin McBroom and Catherine Paiz have a combined fortune of $4 million. This makes sense when you consider the size of the ACE Family’s audience and the fact that most YouTube creators earn between $0.01 and $0.08 per ad view.
The couple also have lucrative Instagram feeds—McBroom has 6.6 million followers, Paiz has a whooping 7.8, and their kids have more than 5 million followers combined.
This is all pretty incredible considering the fact that when Paiz first started dating McBroom, she wasn’t all that sure they would last as a couple. “It’s because when we met, every single relationship leading to that point has always ended,” she said. “And so my initial thought was it’s probably not going to last, just because every other time hasn’t. And it was at the point of my life where I was like ‘I think I’m going to be single forever.'”
“I really do think that Austin and I are meant to be in every way possible,” Paiz added. “Literally, to every single extent, we are meant to be.”
