How Addison Rae's TikTok fame has torn her once close family apart

2022-08-10

From TikTok to turmoil: As Addison Rae unfollows her MOTHER on Instagram after her father’s alleged affair, a look back at her meteoric rise to fame and how it has torn her once close family apart

The 21-year-old, whose full name is Addison Rae Easterling, made $8.5 million from TikTok alone last year and has an estimated net worth of $15 million thanks to her brand partnerships and creative projects
Addison, who was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been candid about her humble beginnings
Her parents, Sheri Easterling and Monty Lopez, divorced when she was three and had an ‘on-and-off’ relationship before they remarried when she was in high school
Addison briefly attended Louisiana State University, but she dropped out after making it big on TikTok in 2019
The influencer’s family moved to Los Angeles in support of her career, which has put them in the spotlight
Fans suspected there was turmoil when Addison and her mother unfollowed Monty in June
In recent weeks, Monty, 46, has been accused of hitting on two different women and cheating on his wife
Influencer Renée Ash, 25, alleged that she had a five-month affair with Monty before breaking up with him
Amid the scandal, rapper Yung Gravy, 26, shared that he wanted to take Sheri, 42, on a date, prompting Monty to challenge him to a boxing match in a series of bizarre TikTok videos
Addison has since unfollowed her mother on Instagram as the drama continues to unfold

Addison Rae has become a household name — at least among her fellow Gen Zers — after her meteoric rise to fame on TikTok nearly three years ago, but the platform that made her millions has also torn her once close family apart.

The 21-year-old, whose full name is Addison Rae Easterling, has an estimated net worth of $15 million thanks to her 88.6 million TikTok followers, her lucrative brand partnerships, and her burgeoning career as an actress and singer.

Addison earned $8.5 million from TikTok alone in 2021, according to Forbes, making her the third highest paid star on the app. Her parents, Sheri Easterling and Monty Lopez, have also risen to prominence after moving to Los Angeles with her and her two younger brothers, Enzo and Lucas, in support of her career.

Addison Rae, 21, made $8.5 million from TikTok alone last year and has an estimated net worth of $15 million thanks to her brand partnerships and creative projects

The TikTok star, whose full name is Addison Rae Easterling, moved to Los Angeles with her parents and her younger brothers in 2019 to pursue her career

Nearly three years later, Addison’s rise to fame seems to have destroyed her family. She has unfollowed both of her parents on Instagram after her father, Monty, 46, was accused of cheating on her mother, Sheri, 42, as well as hitting on other women

The Louisiana native’s overnight fame and increasing fortune have put her family in the spotlight, and they have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks.

It came to light last month that Monty, 46, allegedly had a five-month affair with 25-year-old influencer Renée Ash. Fans noticed that Addison had unfollowed her father on Instagram shortly before the news broke.

But in a surprise twist, it seems she has also cut ties with her mother after it was pointed out that she has unfollowed Sheri, 42, as well.

As the family’s drama continues to unfold, FEMAIL takes a look back at how Addison went from an unknown teen whose family struggled to make ends meet to a multi-hyphenate superstar with millions in the bank.

EARLY LIFE

Addison was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, on October 6, 2000, and has been candid about her humble beginnings

Her parents divorced when she was three and had an ‘on-and-off’ relationship throughout her childhood

Addison was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, to parents Sheri and Monty on October 6, 2000.

She opened up about the ups and downs of her childhood and her humble beginnings on the first episode of her Spotify podcast, Mama Knows Best, which she co-hosts with her mom.

Sheri had just turned 21 and was dating her now-estranged husband Monty when they welcomed Addison, their first of three children. They married in 2003 but divorced about a year later, making Sheri a single mom.

Addison said she didn’t spend much time with her dad between the ages of three and six, though Sheri noted she would see him every once in a while.

The influencer explained her parents had an ‘on-and-off’ relationship throughout her childhood. She was six when her mother got pregnant with her brother Enzo after reuniting with Monty. This was also the age that she started dancing and traveling across the country for competitions.

A year after Enzo was born, the family was living in a camper with ‘one main room and a bunkbed,’ Addison recalled. She explained that the trailer business her father worked for allowed them to borrow an RV because they ‘didn’t have anywhere to live.’

Addison was six when she started dancing and traveling across the country for competitions

Sheri was a single mom when Addison was between the ages of three and six. The rising singer said she didn’t see her dad a lot during this time

Addison said she was bullied as a kid, recalling on instance when she was teased in middle school for having secondhand Bearpaw boots instead of higher-price Uggs

‘It was so hard to shower in an RV,’ she added noting: ‘It was not an RV because RVs are super luxurious. This was like a camper.’

When she was in fifth grade, her family briefly moved to Texas, where they lived for two years. Sheri and Monty, who were still divorced, welcomed their youngest son, Lucas, during that time. (Both of Addison’s brothers have taken their father’s last name, Lopez, though she continues to use her mother’s maiden name.)

After Monty got a job offer he couldn’t refuse, the family returned to Louisiana — this time the northern part of the state — when Addison was about to start eighth grade.

The social media star said they moved into an apartment and had ‘pool chairs’ in their living room in place of furniture.

‘It was a really hard time for me,’ explained Addison, who was bullied throughout her childhood.

She recounted one instance in which the kids at her new school in Louisiana teased her for wearing a secondhand pair of Bearpaw boots instead of higher-priced Uggs.

Addison eventually made friends and became a member of her high school cheerleading team. Her parents remarried in 2017, two years before she graduated

Addison skipped her senior prom to try out for the Louisiana State University dance team known as the Tiger Girls, but she ended up getting cut

‘They literally bullied me, like, “You can’t afford real Uggs, like that’s embarrassing,’ she said, recalling how she came home crying.

Even though the family couldn’t afford it, her mom took her to the store that day and charged a $200 pair of Uggs with the hope that Addison would stop getting picked on.

Addison eventually made friends and became a member of her high school cheerleading team. Her parents got remarried in 2017, and she graduated two years later.

The teen, who had been dancing most of her life, had her sights set on joining the Louisiana State University dance team known as the Tiger Girls. She was so dedicated to her dream that she missed her senior prom to attend tryouts.

‘It was kind of a priorities thing at that point,’ she explained on an episode of her podcast last August. ‘I obviously would love to have gone to prom and I just never did, but it was really important for me to make this tryout and try my best to hopefully become a Tiger Girl.’

While she made it past the first round, she was eventually cut, which broke her heart and made her briefly reconsider attending LSU. She ultimately decided to go to the school, and her family moved to Baton Rouge with her to save money on room and board — but she wasn’t there for long.

TIKTOK FAME

Addison made the life-changing decision to join TikTok in July 2019, the summer before she entered her freshman year at LSU

Like many other teenagers, Addison began filming herself in her home in Louisiana , but it was her posts that started racking up millions of views

Addison made the life-changing decision to join TikTok in July 2019, the summer before she entered her freshman year at LSU, where she briefly studied broadcast journalism.

She remembers the exact date she reached one million followers, telling Forbes it was October 27, 2019. By that point, people were starting to recognize her on campus thanks to her videos, which mostly showed her dancing and lip-syncing.

‘My name would be called out when I was walking to class, which was pretty mind-blowing,’ she recounted.

A month later, she dropped out of school. Around the same time, she shared her first sponsored content post for the online retailer Fashion Nova. By December 2019, she had moved to Los Angeles to turn her budding fame into a lucrative career.

Just a few days after Addison joined TikTok, she amassed a whopping 300,000 followers

The TikTok star dropped out of college a few months into her freshman year and moved to Los Angeles with her family to pursue her career in entertainment

Addison, who has her own clean makeup brand, ITEM Beauty, was declared her TikTok’s highest-paid star in 2020 after she pulled in an estimated $5 million in earnings in just one year

Addison’s meteoric rise to fame led to her friendship with Kourtney Kardashian, 43, whose son Mason was a fan of her TikTok videos

She befriended other TikTokers and helped form Hype House, a content creator collective that calls an LA mansion of the same name home base.

As her star continued to rise, she scored branded merchandise and sponsored content deals. In January 2020, Addison signed with the WME talent agency along with her parents.

That same year, she was named a global spokesperson for American Eagle and was featured in the brand’s digital and print campaigns as well as TV spots. She also launched her clean makeup brand, ITEM Beauty, which is a joint venture with the startup Madeby.

In August 2020, Forbes declared her TikTok’s highest-paid star after she pulled in an estimated $5 million in earnings in just one year. She became close with Kourtney Kardashian and was often seen hanging out with her close friend and mentor, who knows a few things about being famous for being famous.

The influencer’s friendship with Kourtney led to her modeling in a campaign for Kim Kardashian’s brand SKIMS

Addison also had a very public on-again, off-again relationship with fellow TikTok star Bryce Hall that ended in March 2021

In May 2021, she celebrated her first interview with Vogue, sharing images from the high-profile shoot on Instagram

The two got so tight that Kourtney’s sister Kim actually questioned in an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians if they were romantically involved, which Addison denied.

‘I think they meant it lightheartedly!’ she told Vogue of the uncomfortable confrontation that took place during a lunch in Malibu.

Addison described Kourtney, now 43, as being ‘motherly,’ saying she introduced her to everything from her famous avocado smoothie to handling public scrutiny.

‘She knows firsthand how to really handle all of this,’ she said.

Addison also had a very public on-again, off-again relationship with fellow TikTok star Bryce Hall during this time. The former couple broke up and went their separate ways in March 2021 following rumors that he had cheated.

SINGING AND ACTING CAREER

The aspiring singer dropped her debut single Obsessed in March 2021, though fans are still waiting for her first album

Addison performed TikTok dances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but she faced backlash after she failed to credit the black creators behind the routines

Addison released her debut single Obsessed In March 2021 and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she taught the host viral TikTok dances.

However, the segment sparked backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation after she failed to credit the black creators behind the dances.

Addison addressed the issue in an interview with TMZ days after the segment, saying: ‘I think they were all credited in the original YouTube posting, but it’s kinda hard to credit during the show.

‘But they all know that I love them so much and I mean, I support all of them so much. And hopefully one day we can all meet up and dance together. They deserve all the credit because they came up with these amazing trends.’

Addison was cast as influencer Padgett Sawyer in the gender-swapping She’s All That redo He’s All That

Addison and her He’s All That co-star Tanner Buchanan sent sparks flying when they locked lips while presenting Best Kiss at the awards show in May 2021

Fans are still waiting for the debut album she was said to be working on at the time.

In May 2021, she celebrated her first interview with Vogue, sharing images from the high-profile shoot on Instagram.

‘Pinch me!! This is so surreal,’ she wrote. ‘My first time being photographed for @voguemagazine Vogue!! In the June/July issue on stands soon. Thank you so much to everyone involved. I will never get over this feeling.’

The singer is believed to have started dating Israeli record producer Omer Fedi, 22, around this time, though she has been more private about the details of their relationship following her public breakup with Bryce.

Addison is no stranger to controversy, and her popularity suffered a blow after she was spotted introducing herself to Donald Trump at a star-studded UFC 264 fight in Las Vegas in July 2021.

Addison’s popularity suffered a blow after she was spotted introducing herself to former President Donald Trump at a star-studded UFC 264 fight in Las Vegas in July 2021. She later insisted she was not a Trump supporter

He’s All That was released on Netflix in August 2021, and while it quickly shot up to number one on the streaming giant across multiple countries, it was generally panned by critics.

Her enthusiastic greeting fueled speculation about her political affiliation — a topic that was first brought up in 2019 after she was accused of registering to vote as a Republican.

Many took issue with her public support of Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements, which they said was at odds with her desire to meet the former president. Some fans even went as far as launching a campaign to cancel her.

Addison later defended her decision of wanting to meet the former president, but she noted that she was not a Trump supporter. The focus soon shifted to the budding actress’s first starring role in the Netflix movie He’s All That, which premiered in August 2021.

Addison played influencer Padgett Sawyer opposite actor Tanner Buchanan’s unpopular Cameron Kweller in the gender-swapping redo of She’s All That, the 1999 teen film that starred Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook.

In September 2021, it was revealed that Addison will be acting in and executive producing more projects for Netflix after signing a multipicture film deal with the streaming giant

Addison also recently partnered with Bonkers Toys to create her own line of dolls, which she has been promoting on social media

The light-hearted film quickly shot up to number one on the streaming service across multiple countries, but it was generally panned by critics.

In September 2021, it was revealed that Addison will be acting in and executive producing more projects for Netflix after signing a multipicture film deal with the streaming giant.

Earlier this year, it was announced that she had scored a starring role in the upcoming Paramount Players’ film Fashionista, which is currently in the works.

Addison also recently partnered with Bonkers Toys to create her own line of dolls, which she has been promoting on social media.

FAMILY DRAMA

There was suspected turmoil in the Easterling-Lopez family in June when fans noticed that Addison had unfollowed her father on Instagram. Her mother, Sheri, also unfollowed Monty and removed ‘wife’ from her bio

Fans first suspected there was turmoil in Addison’s family in June after noticing that she had unfollowed her father, Monty, on Instagram.

Her mother, Sheri, also unfollowed Monty and removed ‘wife’ from her bio, though he still had her listed in his at the time. (He now only has his three children named, while Sheri is calling herself a ‘single mom.’)

Monty, who has 5.3 million TikTok Followers, was accused of hitting on two women and cheating on his wife not long after.

In one viral clip that has since been deleted, a TikTok user recorded the moment Monty appeared to touch her butt while at a club.

‘Addison Rae’s dad is trying to f**k me, I swear to God,’ the young woman said in the video before showing how the scene played out.

Shortly after, two women accused Mony of hitting them. In one viral clip that has since been deleted, a TikTok user recorded the moment Monty appeared to touch her butt while at a club

Another shared a video of herself on FaceTime call, claiming it was Monty who had reached out to her late at night

Another since-deleted video showed a young woman speaking to someone on FaceTime. Although the man’s face was hard to make out in the dark, his voice resembled Monty’s, and the woman claimed that it was him.

‘POV: When Addison Rae’s Dad FaceTimes you late night,’ she captioned the footage.

A few days later, influencer Renée Ash, 25, alleged that she had a five-month affair with Monty while he was married to Sheri after he told her that his marriage to Addison’s mom was over.

‘Unfortunately, he misled me on his marriage, he lied to me,’ Renée told Page Six. ‘He told me that we were going to be together and have babies together.’

‘He even introduced me to his mom, his youngest brother and I thought we had something real,’ she added. ‘He told me a story of his marriage that convinced me that they were apart and in the process of getting a divorce.’

Influencer Renée Ash, 25, (right) has alleged that she had a five-month affair with Monty while he was married to Sheri (left). She claimed that he told her that his marriage to Addison’s mom was over

Renée said she broke up with Monty after finding out that he was being accused of hitting on multiple women

Renée said she finally broke up with Monty following the accusations that he had hit on several women while they were together.

Although Addison hasn’t publicly acknowledged the scandal, she posted a tweet hinting at her private turmoil last month.

‘I’ve really been struggling to post and get out and do things but I love you all and you mean so much more to me than I can ever express,’ she wrote. ‘My life is forever changed thanks to all of the people who decided to care about me and support me. I love y’all <3 life is weird but worth it.’

Meanwhile, Renée has said that she’s been receiving death threats since telling the world she had an affair with Monty.

‘It’s been horrible, I’ve been in hiding all week,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘People are sending me death threats on Instagram. I haven’t even checked TikTok, I’m sure they’re on there too.’

Sheri’s Instagram bio now says she is a ‘single mom’ following her estrangement from her husband

The drama continued when 24-year-old rapper Yung Gravy struck up a flirtation with Sheri on TikTok (left). He later claimed on the Jeff FM podcast (right) that he has a ‘thing for MILFs’ and wants to take Sheri on a date

Yung Gravy’s interest in Addison’s mom led to Monty challenging him to a boxing match on TikTok in a series of bizarre videos

Renée also alleged that Monty was ‘very overbearing’ toward the end of their relationship, saying he laid out rules about her talking to other men that he didn’t uphold himself with other women.

‘He was doing a lot of stuff behind my back that he was telling me not to do,’ she said, adding that she was ‘not in contact’ with Addison or her family but would be open to speaking to them.

When asked if she had any remorse about the affair, she said in absolute terms that she regrets ‘spending any second with him.’

Following the news of her husband’s alleged cheating, Sheri took to Instagram to say she was doing OK and her biggest concern now was the effect the scandal would have on her children.

The drama continued when rapper Yung Gravy struck up a flirtation with Sheri on TikTok. The 26-year-old rapper — whose real name is Matthew Raymond Hauri — later said on the Jeff FM podcast that he has a ‘thing for MILFs’ and wants to take Sheri on a date.

Earlier this week, the TikTokRoom alerted fans to the fact that Addison has also unfollowed her mom on Instagram amid the family drama

Sheri responded to the post, writing in the comments: ‘Heart wrenching’ with a sad face

As Addison continues to pull away from her family, she has been leaning on her boyfriend, Israeli record producer Omer Fedi, 22, for support during this difficult time

‘She’s recently single,’ he said, claiming: ‘We are going on a date soon. All I [know] is she lives in Louisiana.’

Yung Gravy’s interest in Addison’s mom led to Monty challenging him to a boxing match on TikTok in a series of bizarre videos.

Earlier this week, the TikTokRoom alerted fans to the fact that Addison has also unfollowed her mom on Instagram amid the family drama. Sheri responded to the post, writing in the comments: ‘Heart wrenching’ with a sad face.

Sheri commented on Monty’s attempts to box Yung Gravy, writing: ‘I know this video may seem funny to some of you but I am terrified of this man.’

As Addison continues to pull away from her family, she has been leaning on her boyfriend, Omer, for support during this difficult time.

The influencer admitted last month that she has been ‘struggling to post and get out and do things’ amid her dad’s cheating scandal.

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