Alix Earle's Stepmom Ashley Dupré's Twists of Fame from Governor Scandal to Social Media Star

The stepmother of social media sensation Alix Earle, Ashley Dupré, gained considerable public recognition following a 2008 scandal involving a past New York state governor.

Dupré, who was employed by the high-end escort service Emperor’s Club VIP, captured national headlines after her involvement with former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer subsequently resigned from his post merely a week after government authorities uncovered his association with the escort service through a wiretap investigation.

Beyond her connection to Spitzer in 2008, Dupré once again became newsworthy after commencing an extramarital relationship with Alix’s father, Thomas “TJ” Earle. (TJ was married to Alisa Earle at that time. They are the parents of daughters Alix and Ashtin Earle.)

“I remember the day very clearly. Paparazzi had shown up at my house and my mom quickly got me and my sister out of the house [and] over to my cousins. I didn’t know they were paparazzi,” Alix recounted during her September 2023 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, further stating that it felt like her “world crashed down in that moment.”

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TJ later married Dupré in 2013. They subsequently welcomed three children together: Izabel, Penelope, and Thomas.

Continue reading for more details about Alix’s stepmom:

Ashley Dupré Was Implicated in a Sex Scandal Involving Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer

Dupré — an escort for Emperor’s Club VIP when she was only 22 — made significant news after her involvement in a sex scandal with Spitzer. He ultimately resigned from his position, and his wife divorced him the following year.

“He looked familiar. But I was 22 years old, I didn’t, I wasn’t reading the papers, I was so involved in my life and I was so selfish and caught up in my life and I didn’t know who he was,” she explained in a 2008 interview with ABC News. “And I was whoever they wanted me to be, and he was whoever he wanted to be.”

After attracting extensive public attention and receiving numerous offers for reality television and modeling shoots, Dupré continued to make talk show appearances, engage in some modeling work, and launched an advice column for the New York Post titled “Ask Ashley.”

Ashley Dupré Is Married to Alix’s Father, Thomas ‘TJ’ Earle

In the same year as her scandal with Spitzer, Dupré began an affair with Alix’s father, TJ, who was then married to Alisa.

“My dad had an affair with someone who was well-known for her job having sexual relations with high-class people and one of them was even the governor of New York,” Alix shared on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in September 2023. “She was very well known from that and in turn, my dad’s affair became a very public situation.”

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Dupré and TJ eventually married in October 2013 during a trip to Paris.

“My dad was driving us to school in the morning … and he turns around in the car,” Alix recalled on “Call Her Daddy.” “He’s like, ‘Hey. So you know how Ashley and I took a trip to Paris last week?’ And we were like, ‘Yeah.’ And he’s like, ‘So, you know, we got married.’”

Ashley Dupré Is the Biological Mother of 3 Children

TJ and Dupré later welcomed Izabel, Penelope, and Thomas in 2012, 2015, and 2017, respectively. Alix shares a close bond with her half-siblings — even dedicating one of her Dancing With the Stars’ performances to her sister Izabel.

“I went to visit her in the hospital, and I had this overwhelming feeling,” Alix exclusively shared with E! News in October 2025. “I wanted to look out for her, I wanted to protect her. Suddenly, that became more important than the other emotions I was feeling and dealing with. It really helped me to mature and really helped bring our family back together. It was our second chance at our family.”

Alix mentioned that while she is Izabel’s “big sister,” Izabel has somewhat been like a big sister to her, teaching her “so much.”

“It’s hard to replicate and hard to find, so I just give her so much credit for that,” she gushed.

Ashley Dupré Developed a Close Relationship With Her Stepchildren

Although Alix and Ashtin were initially displeased following their father’s affair and the introduction of Dupré into the family, they eventually transitioned into more of a blended family unit.

“It’s normal for me to have my dad, my mom and my stepmom all going on the same trips. Whatever’s happened in the past, we’ve all gotten past it as a family,” Alix told Elle in an August 2023 interview.

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Alix stated that she had grown “super close” with Dupré.

“One time, I was overwhelmed about something of mine and I called my dad,” she recounted to Elle. “He was like, ‘You should really talk to Ashley about this. She has dealt with this before, stuff in the media.’ It’s brought us closer because she’s able to guide me through it.”

Ashley Dupré Pursued a Career as an Influencer

Dupré continues to share aspects of her life as a mother and wife on social media, where she has gathered 327.2K followers on TikTok and 31K on Instagram.

In one of her top-performing videos, which has over 1M views, Dupré showcases a gift Alix made for Izabel when she was younger.

“For one of Izabel’s birthdays. She was super young, Alix made this for her. She took all of these little sticks and she glued them all together to make a box,” she said in the TikTok video in February 2024. “Inside that box were these [cards]. There are 10 pieces.”

Dupré elaborated that each of the notes contained “words of wisdom or advice” for Izabel, including messages such as “stay adorable, stay loveable, learn to share and don’t be scared to make friends, be nice to everyone, love your friends and family, be the best that you can be in all that you do, be thankful for what you have, be yourself and don’t be afraid, be a great friend and become a leader.”