You remember the blue house. Everyone does. For a few years, it felt like you couldn't open YouTube without seeing Catherine McBroom—then Catherine Paiz—smiling alongside Austin McBroom in a thumbnail that promised a life of absolute, shimmering perfection. It was the peak of the "family vlog" era. They weren't just creators; they were a global brand. But the narrative around Catherine from the ACE Family has shifted so drastically since those early days in 2016 that it’s almost hard to keep track of where the persona ends and the real person begins.
She was the anchor. While Austin was the high-energy, often controversial frontman, Catherine played the role of the poised, grounding force. People loved her. They bought her skincare, they copied her style, and they invested emotionally in her journey through motherhood with Elle, Alaïa, and Steel. But behind the 10-minute edited clips of mansion tours and pranks, a much messier reality was brewing. It wasn't just about the internet drama or the "cancel culture" moments that hit the family every few months. It was a slow, public deconstruction of a marriage and a business empire.
The Pivot From Catherine Paiz to Catherine McBroom
Growth is weird when it’s documented. When Catherine first started appearing in videos, she was a model and aspiring actress with a following of her own, but the ACE Family catapulted her into a different stratosphere. We watched her transition from a young woman in a new relationship to a matriarch of a digital kingdom. But looking back, you can see the cracks started appearing long before the formal split.
The 1251 Fitness era, the 1212 Gateway spiritual pivots, and the constant rebrandings suggested someone searching for an identity outside of just being "Austin’s wife." She started talking more about manifestation, crystals, and "healing journeys." Some fans found it inspiring. Others felt it was a way to distance herself from the mounting legal troubles and foreclosure rumors that began swirling around their $10 million Mediterranean-style mansion in 2021.
Honestly, the house was the first major domino. For months, the internet speculated about their finances. Catherine and Austin denied it. They filmed videos mocking the rumors. Then, the reality of the foreclosure hit the public records, and the "perfect life" facade didn't just crack—it shattered. This wasn't just about money; it was about the trust between the creator and the audience. If the house wasn't real, what else was a lie?
Why the Divorce Changed Everything for the ACE Family Brand
In early 2024, the announcement finally came. Catherine posted to Instagram that she and Austin were divorcing. It was the end of an era. But for Catherine, it seemed like a liberation. The "McBroom" tag started to fade, and she began leaning back into her roots.
The divorce wasn't just a personal choice; it was a massive business move. The ACE Family channel, which at its peak boasted over 18 million subscribers, became a ghost town of what it once was. You have to understand how rare it is for a channel that large to just... stop. Usually, creators pivot. They try to save the brand. But the brand was the relationship. Without the "Family" part of the ACE Family, Catherine had to figure out who she was to her audience as a solo act.
The Legal Shadows and Content Shifts
We can't talk about Catherine without talking about the lawsuits. There was the Social Gloves boxing event debacle where Austin's company was accused of not paying fighters. There were the claims regarding their skincare line, Catherine’s brand "1212 Gateway." Some users complained about shipping issues or the quality of the products, while others defended her fiercely.
Expertly navigating a brand through a series of lawsuits is nearly impossible. Catherine chose a strategy of "selective silence." She stayed quiet on the legal stuff, focused on aesthetic "day in the life" content, and leaned heavily into her role as a mother. It worked, to an extent. She kept a core following of millions who felt she was a victim of Austin’s poor business decisions. Whether that's entirely true is up for debate, as she was a partner in many of these ventures, but the public perception favored her.
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Life After the ACE Family: What Catherine is Doing Now
She's different now. If you look at her current socials, the high-octane "clickbait" energy is gone. It's been replaced by a quiet, almost "quiet luxury" aesthetic. She’s focusing on her children and her personal wellness. The move out of the mega-mansion and into a more "modest" (by influencer standards) home marked a shift in her public-facing values.
She's also dealing with the reality of being a single mother in the spotlight. Austin’s post-divorce behavior—which included some pretty bizarre Snapchat marathons and living in an RV outside her house—forced Catherine to maintain a level of public stoicism that many found impressive. She didn't bite. She didn't go on a "tea" podcast to trash him. She just kept posting her green juices and her kids' school lunches.
That's a specific kind of brand management. By not engaging in the mud-slinging, she preserved her "classy" image. It allowed her to keep her partnerships and her standing in the lifestyle space while the ACE Family brand itself became a cautionary tale of YouTube overreach.
What Most People Get Wrong About Catherine
People think she was just a passenger. The common narrative is that Austin drove the bus off the cliff and Catherine was just in the backseat. But anyone who knows the influencer industry knows that a channel doesn't hit 18 million subs without two very driven people at the helm. Catherine was the visual architect. She knew how to frame the shots, how to market the "dream," and how to keep the audience coming back for the emotional beats.
Her "healing" era isn't just a phase; it's a rebranding of a woman who knows her old audience has grown up. The kids who watched the ACE Family in 2017 are in their 20s now. They aren't interested in pranks anymore. They're interested in skincare, mental health, and moving on from toxic situations. Catherine is growing with them—or at least, she's very good at making it look that way.
The "downfall" wasn't a single event. It was a series of choices. The boxing matches, the house, the over-expansion into too many product lines. It was a classic case of the "Icarus effect" in the creator economy. They flew too close to the sun, and the wax melted. But while Austin seems to be struggling to find his new wings, Catherine has pivoted to a different kind of flight.
Actionable Takeaways for Following the New Catherine
If you're still following the drama or looking to Catherine for lifestyle inspiration, here is the current reality of her brand:
- Focus on the Solo Brand: Don't expect ACE Family content anymore. That brand is effectively dead. Catherine is operating as an individual creator now, focusing on "lifestyle" and "wellness."
- Watch the Business Moves: Pay attention to how she handles her next product launch. After the issues with previous brands, she’s likely to be much more careful with her next venture to avoid the "scam" labels that plagued the family in the past.
- Social Media Boundaries: She has become much more guarded. The era of "over-sharing" every detail of her private life is over. She’s learned that the more you give the internet, the more it can take away when things go south.
- The Motherhood Pivot: Most of her high-performing content now revolves around her children. This is a common "safe" pivot for female influencers who have gone through controversy. It grounds the brand in something relatable and harder to criticize.
The story of Catherine is a masterclass in the rise and fall of the first generation of "Social Media Royalty." It shows that while fame is easy to get, staying at the top requires a level of stability that a high-drama YouTube channel simply can't sustain. She’s now in the "rebuilding" phase of her career, and honestly, it might be her most interesting chapter yet.
To keep up with the most accurate updates on her business ventures and personal brand, it’s best to follow her verified Instagram and TikTok accounts directly. Avoid the "tea" channels that often recycle old news from the 2021-2022 era; the real story now is in her quiet transition away from the chaos of the past decade.