You remember Ren Stevens. She was the high-achieving, type-A, slightly high-strung sister who balanced out Shia LaBeouf’s chaotic Louis. To us, Christy Carlson Romano was the golden girl of the early 2000s Disney Channel era. She was Kim Possible. She was Belle on Broadway. She was, quite literally, everywhere.
But honestly? The "perfect" life we saw through our chunky CRT televisions was mostly a mirage.
Working on Even Stevens wasn't just some whimsical playground where everyone got along and went for milkshakes after filming. Behind those colorful sets and wacky sound effects, things were complicated. While we were laughing at the "Ren-gate" scandals, Christy was navigating a high-pressure environment that most adults couldn't handle, let alone a teenager.
The Shia LaBeouf Dynamic: Not Exactly Brotherly Love
One of the biggest misconceptions about Even Stevens is that Christy and Shia were best friends. They weren't. In fact, they didn't really get along at all.
Christy has been pretty open recently about the fact that their relationship was "rocky" at best. They shared a dressing room—ironically, David Hasselhoff’s old space from his Baywatch days—but they rarely "gelled." While they played siblings on screen, the off-screen vibe was much more competitive.
Basically, Shia was all-in. For him, the show was life-or-death. Christy has mentioned in her YouTube videos that because he took it so seriously, it often felt like "his" show, and she was just the girl who was around to play the sister. There’s a specific bit of "tea" she shared about the 2003 Daytime Emmys. Shia won for Outstanding Performer, and during his speech, he thanked everyone at their table except her.
That hurts. Especially when you’ve spent years building a brand together.
She’s admitted to feeling "salty" about his massive movie career later on. Who wouldn't? You watch your "little brother" become a global superstar in Transformers while you're grinding away, trying to figure out your next move. It wasn't until much later, after watching his autobiographical film Honey Boy, that she realized the "emotional terror" he was dealing with at home. His father was a "negative presence" on the Even Stevens set for everyone, and Christy now says she wishes she’d been more patient with him back then.
How the "Disney Money" Actually Vanished
There’s this weird myth that if you were a Disney star, you’re set for life. You’ve probably seen those "celebrity net worth" sites claiming Christy is worth $3 million.
She isn't. Not even close.
Christy was making millions at 16, but she’s the first to tell you she blew it. It wasn't just on "young and dumb" stuff, though she did drop a fortune on a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and Ralph Lauren clothes to try and fit a lifestyle she thought she was supposed to have. The real kicker? Psychics.
It sounds wild, but it’s true. At a low point—exhausted from performing eight shows a week in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway and recovering from vocal surgery—she was approached by a psychic at the stage door. That one encounter turned into a massive financial drain. We're talking crystals, powders, and "readings" that eventually led to a $40,000 amethyst.
She’s described it as one of her "greatest shames." But it’s a cautionary tale about what happens when a young person has a massive bank account and zero financial fluency. She eventually parted ways with her family for a year at age 21 because she didn't like how her money was being managed. By the time she took control, the "well" was starting to run dry.
The Dark Side of Being "The Perfect Girl"
While we were all trying to be as smart as Ren Stevens, Christy was struggling with things she couldn't talk about. Depression. Self-harm. Binge drinking.
The schedule was brutal. She’d work all day as an actress and spend her nights being tutored. There was no room for "real" friends, which left her with a desperate need to be liked by everyone. When the show ended and the "fame" started to wear off, she felt like a total failure.
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She tried the Ivy League route at Barnard College but felt completely out of place. She eventually dropped out (though she did finish her degree much later, around age 30). For about ten years, she struggled with alcohol abuse, trying to numb the pressure of "aging out" of the industry.
It wasn't until she met her husband, Brendan Rooney, that things started to shift. She’s been sober since before her first pregnancy, and honestly, her pivot into being the "older sister" of the internet is one of the most successful rebrands in Hollywood.
The PodCo Era and "Even More Stevens"
Instead of running away from her past, Christy decided to own it. She started her YouTube channel, where she’d cook nostalgia-themed meals and tell the truth about the "toddler to trainwreck pipeline."
In 2023, she launched PodCo with her husband. It’s a podcast network specifically for rewatch shows. She even got the old gang back together for the Even More Stevens Podcast with Nick Spano (Donnie) and Steven Anthony Lawrence (Beans).
Speaking of Beans... things haven't been quite as smooth for him lately. In early 2026, Steven Anthony Lawrence made headlines after being fired from Universal Studios Hollywood. He claimed it was for reporting a "suspected pedophile," but his former coworkers fired back, calling him a "menace to work with" and "problematic." It’s a messy situation that reminds us that the "Disney family" has very real, very human problems long after the cameras stop rolling.
What You Can Learn from the Ren Stevens Story
If you’re looking at Christy Carlson Romano’s journey and wondering what the takeaway is, it’s not just "don't buy $40,000 crystals" (though, seriously, don't do that).
- Know your worth early. Christy has said that Hollywood isn't built to protect kids. If you're in a high-pressure career, you need to set boundaries before you burn out.
- Financial literacy is a survival skill. It doesn't matter how much you make if you don't know where it's going. Investing in "passive income" and houses is better than buying amethysts from stage-door psychics.
- Nostalgia is a tool, not a trap. Christy turned her "trauma" and her history into a business model. She didn't wait for Disney to give her a reboot; she built her own platform.
Your next step? If you’re a fan of the era, check out her Vulnerable podcast. She interviews other former child stars like Alyson Stoner and Alexa Vega. It’s a masterclass in how to process a weird childhood and come out the other side as a functional, albeit slightly scarred, adult.