OPINION

The opinions published by The Match are solely those of the author, and not of the entire publication, its staff, or Collegiate School. The Match welcomes thoughtful commentary and response to our content. You can respond in the comments below, but please do so respectfully. Letters to the Editors will be published, but they are subject to revision based on content or length. Letters can be sent to match@collegiate-va.org.

By Emma Lewis

Austin McBroom is a former NCAA basketball player turned social media personality. He played as a guard for the Saint Louis Billikens, Central Michigan Chippewas, and Eastern Washington Eagles. His more well-known rise to fame came from the family youtube channel he shared with his ex-wife, Catherine Paiz. The ACE Family channel, where they shared their relatable, sometimes wacky, lives, has over 18 million subscribers. Recently, however, the family has stopped posting on Youtube, and he and his wife have split, and, in the wake of their marriage, McBroom has begun his venture of strange, potentially concerning endeavors. 

The ACE Family stopped posting Youtube videos in 2022 and announced their divorce after seven years of marriage in separate instagram posts. They both said that they would be co-parenting their three children and that the split was amiable.

Since the divorce, McBroom has been inescapable on social media. McBroom has documented his entire moving-out process on Snapchat with vigor, with viewers calling it “serial-posting.” 

McBroom and his RV. Photo credit: Austin McBroom via instagram @austinmcbroom.

He allegedly avoided moving out of his and Paiz’s home by exaggerating an illness that required him to postpone the move. He then claimed that he was buying a house a mere five minutes away from his ex-wife’s home. He supposedly moved into his new home, and all seemed well until he mysteriously had to vacate. As a temporary solution, and in an effort to remain close to his children, McBroom bought a motor home and parked it outside of Paiz’s house. Unfortunately, he was issued a ticket for parking in the same spot in his neighborhood for over 72 hours. All was not lost, however, when a neighbor let him park on their property.

McBroom has also ventured down several short career paths in the wake of the divorce. He has tried his hand at songwriting. In his song, “Still my Ace,” which is dedicated to Paiz, he writes about how he misses his family, stating, “You know that I miss you, I been watching you right through the tree.”

Additionally, McBroom’s endeavors have included, but are not limited to, getting a job at CVS, becoming a UCLA student, and selling homemade lemonade and horchata outside of a mall. 

We, as a society, have always loved to see people “lose it.” The idea presents itself in literature throughout history in characters like Oedipus and Alonso Quixano.  Of course, these characters are fictional. Ever since the rise of modern celebrities, people like Britney Spears and Marilyn Monroe become all the more notorious when they eventually fall.

Influencers like McBroom do this sort of thing all the time, capitalizing on their unwell or unfortunate state. Whether or not these stunts are real or otherwise, they certainly work to capture the public’s attention. Fame seems to push people to limits they otherwise would not breach, and perhaps this is the case with McBroom. The prospect of fame has seemingly brought him to his breaking point, causing him to extort himself and those around him. Whether he is truly struggling with divorce, or if it’s all a ploy, he certainly has won the attention of the internet.