Fraud, cheating and 18 million followers: The downfall of YouTube’s OG family vloggers.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault.

If you're a fan of family vlogging channels on YouTube, then you most definitely would have come across The Ace Family, made up of Austin and Catherine McBroom and their three children.

From the outside, the YouTubers appeared to be a picture-perfect family, but after a string of scandals, their facade wore off, resulting in their 18.4 million subscribers questioning not only their morals but their relationship as well.

On January 12, Catherine announced that she and Austin have "mutually agreed to a divorce and will part amicably", citing irreconcilable differences. 

Austin and Catherine with their three children. Image: Instagram @catherinemcbroom.

"This decision comes with a very heavy heart. As heartbreaking as this is, I also feel liberated. I have spent the past few years prioritising my children and honouring my commitment to my family; all the while I seemed to be losing myself and my own personal happiness," she wrote on Instagram.

She added that their main priority will be co-parenting their children, before concluding, "Austin, you're my best friend and that will never change."

Catherine announced that she and Austin were parting ways on Instagram. Image: Instagram @catherinemcbroom.

While divorce announcements aren't usually a cause for celebration, Catherine's statement was met with happy reactions from fans who have witnessed Austin allegedly mistreat her repeatedly throughout their marriage. 

"It's probably not the best time to say this, but it's about damn time! Happy for you! You deserve loyalty," commented one user.

Another comment, which Catherine liked, said: "I just want to say in regard to Catherine and Austin, you all created a beautiful image despite the traumas, rumours and tribulations you went through. At a certain point, women can no longer 'hold it down' for someone who is not prioritising their relationship and their partner's feelings.

"Being involved in worldly ways of the world and expecting sacrifices when you can't even sacrifice loyalty that you swore you'd provide till death do you part. This is a freeing form of love for Catherine and she deserves peace. Happy releasing Catherine."

Austin has been accused of cheating on Catherine multiple times throughout their marriage, along with several other things, so the announcement feels like a long time coming.

So, let's get into it.

The Ace Family started documenting their lives on YouTube back in 2016 and was one of the first family channels to amass millions of followers online.

While their online venture brought them fame and fortune, the two have been mired in legal and financial troubles. Here's a list of all the controversies the couple has been involved in since starting their YouTube channel.

A cosmetics company filed a lawsuit against Catherine.

Austin wasn't the only member of the family to be embroiled in legal trouble - Catherine was also sued once by cosmetics start-up TBL Cosmetics.

According to Insider, the influencer had signed a contract with the company to jointly run 1212 Gateway, a "premium skincare line" with ethically sourced ingredients.

However, things went sour after TBL claimed that Catherine, who was supposed to be the face of the brand and promote it on her socials while TBL managed the logistics, had "conspired with her family, friends, and other under-utilised members or idle of her entourage to stage a takeover of 1212 Gateway's management," or, in simple terms, staged a "coup" against TBL.

Catherine had allegedly changed the passwords to all of 1212 Gateway's accounts, including their email, website, social media profiles, and Shopify. 

Catherine has denied all claims against her.

Catherine McBroom. Image: Instagram/@catherinemcbroom

Austin was sued after a boxing event.

Austin has also faced litigation along with one of his companies, Simply Greatest Productions (SGP), after a celebrity boxing event didn't go according to plan. 

On June 12, Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms saw TikTokers like Bryce Hall and Vinnie Hacker go head-to-head against YouTubers like Tanner Fox and Austin in what was meant to be a boxing extravaganza. The entire event was predicted to bring in $200-$500 million in profit, but unfortunately, it operated at a loss instead.

This resulted in media company LiveXLive suing SGP before SGP turned around and sued back, alleging breach of contract and fraud and accusing the company of spending money it had no intention of returning.

On the same day, LiveXLive filed a return suit against the McBrooms for $100 million in damages.

The McBrooms lost ownership of their home.

In May 2021, the McBrooms were served a notice of default from a debt collection company, ordering them to pay back a lender $8.7 million in 90 days.

Their house went into the legal state of "pre-foreclosure", which usually happens when a homeowner hasn't kept up with their mortgage payments. 

The property was then put up for auction at a starting bid of over $9 million but failed to sell. Ownership ended up being transferred to the beneficiary, 5 Arch Funding Corporation.

In December 2021, Austin and Catherine moved into another luxury home, which came with a cinema, a pool, and a home gym. 

The home in question. Image: Instagram/@austinmcbroom

The McBrooms hosted a failed festival.

In 2022, the McBrooms announced that they'd be hosting an event called "The Ace Family Fest" where fans could enjoy free rides and meet them.

The organisers described it as "Disneyland meets Coachella" and revealed that two VIP ticket holders would be invited to attend the couple's wedding, which took place at the end of 2022.

Prices started at $299 for three people and $499 for a VIP package for five people, and while single tickets were not advertised, a YouTuber who live-streamed the event said he purchased an individual ticket at the door for $121.

The festival took place on July 9 in Lancaster, California, and while thousands were in attendance, the event was garnering overwhelmingly negative reviews.

YouTubers who attended documented the expensive food items and the long outdoor lines in the scorching heat, forcing the McBrooms to move their meet and greet inside.

In response to the backlash, Austin told viewers, "Don't click these drama channels, don't click these news outlets, because they're just trying to get you to click.

"Just don't buy into it."

Austin was accused of acting inappropriately towards children.

In 2019, Austin posted a vlog in which he bought a young child - his wife's half-sister - an adult-themed lollipop. He continued to film the child with the penis-shaped lolly, resulting in viewers accusing him of sexualising a little girl.

The year after that, Austin was once again under the microscope. This time for slapping his four-year-old daughter's butt in a live stream, with some people saying it was sexually suggestive.

The ACE Family. Image: Instagram/@austinmcbroom

Austin was accused of rape in 2019.

In 2019, YouTuber Cole Carrigan posted a now-deleted video in which he accused Austin, his father, a security guard, and one of Austin's friends of sexually assaulting one of his friends.

He also alleged that other women have had similar experiences with Austin and while he was not present when the crime allegedly took place, he was making the video on their behalf.

Cole shared screenshots of the alleged exchange, as well as photos of blood-stained bedsheets from the night of the alleged rape.

Following his video, Austin took to Twitter to deny all claims made against him and accused Cole of extortion.

I hope you really all understand what’s going on here... pic.twitter.com/rQ2HEOBFnW

— Austin McBroom (@AustinMcbroom) October 15, 2019

He then shared his own receipts, including a message from one of the alleged victims who said that Austin "did not rape me or anyone" and that "this wasn't Cole's story to tell".

Shortly after, Austin posted legal documents and said that he was taking legal action, but did not specify who he was taking action against.

Austin was allegedly cheating on Catherine throughout their relationship.

Throughout the McBroom's marriage, Austin had been accused of cheating on Catherine multiple times. In 2019, a woman came forward saying Austin had asked her to sign an NDA before hooking up with her while Catherine was at home with their children.

Then, in 2021, a woman shared a video of Austin flirting with her friend on TikTok, and inviting her back to his hotel room.

Austin's alleged infidelity has been brought up several times throughout their relationship.

Feature Image: Instagram @catherinemcbroom.