Back in 2008, Alix Earle was filled with anger towards the woman who eventually became her stepmother after her father’s affair came to light.

At just eight years old, Earle experienced the turmoil of being hurried out of her family home alongside her mother, Alisa, and sister, Ashtin, as paparazzi gathered outside.

The reason behind the media frenzy was her father, Thomas Earle’s affair with Ashley Dupré, who was already infamous for her role in a high-profile scandal with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Fast forward 17 years, and Dupré is now the mother of Earle’s three half-siblings.

Today, Earle, a 24-year-old influencer with 4.8 million Instagram followers, has candidly shared that she and the 40-year-old Dupré have reached a very positive point in their relationship.

However, this apparent harmony took a turn last week when Dupré reportedly caused public embarrassment to her well-known stepdaughter.

Earle is currently a contestant on this season of Dancing with the Stars and only two more episodes away from the final. But with the stakes rising, and after Earle was given a disappointing score by guest judge and pro-dancer Cheryl Burke last week, Dupré hit out at Burke on TikTok, telling her to ‘take more Ozempic’.

‘She looks weird. Doesn’t even look like her,’ added Dupré, who was watching the show from home.

Fans immediately slammed the comments as ‘body shaming’, forcing Dupré to eventually apologize for her ‘insensitive’ words – but the damage was done. The incident had, sources say, exposed a family ‘tension’.  

‘The Earles keep family issues private, but lately there has been noticeable tension between Alix and her stepmom Ashley,’ an insider tells the Daily Mail. ‘Ashley likes attention just as much as Alix, so she’ll say and post whatever she wants without thinking about the repercussions. This smack talking of Cheryl Burke was a scenario where she crossed the line.’

Alix Earle (pictured) felt humiliated by her step mother Ashley Dupré’s comments about Cheryl Burke on Dancing with the Stars, an insider told the Daily Mail 

Earle (center), 24, has worked hard to build a relationship with Dupré (right) in the years since her affair with Earle’s father Thomas ‘TJ’ Earle (left) was outed 

‘Alix would have talked to her stepmom about it immediately and told her what she did was wrong,’ the insider added. ‘I’m sure Ashley wasn’t thrilled about posting an apology, but she did it for Alix. She loves Alix and would not want to get on her bad side.’

But despite that apology, it is understood that Earle was left fuming by Dupré’s comments, afraid that they could cost her a spot in the DWTS final.

After all, the competition has proved to be a tough ride for the influencer, who found fame with her #GetReadyWithMe videos.

Days before last week’s Halloween DWTS special, Earle broke down in tears after leaving rehearsals, telling fans she was struggling to learn the routine.

‘She works so hard in the ballroom and gets upset over how difficult it can be,’ our insider said. ‘So to find out that her stepmom would make damaging comments that could potentially effect fan votes, that could completely break her.

‘Alix has been pulling the weight in the family when it comes to maintaining a good reputation. Ashley has a known history of breaking up marriages and being an escort. The fact that Ashley would make mean comments about a famous person really just shows she hasn’t changed and just wants attention. People who know her don’t take her seriously half the time.’

Earl’s life was turned upside down when her father’s affair with Dupré came to light in 2008. 

It happened months after Dupré landed at the center of a sex scandal with the former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer. The politician was investigated by the FBI after he was found to be spending thousands of dollars on an escort service. A then 23-year-old Dupré was revealed to be a woman he had hired.

Spitzer quickly resigned, and his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, later filed for divorce. The couple share three daughters.

Dupré married Earle’s father in 2013, a year after they welcomed their daughter Izabel. Their second daughter, Penelope, followed in 2015, and their son, Thomas, was born two years later.

‘The Earle’s keep family issues private, but lately there has been noticeable tension between Alix and her stepmom Ashley,’ an insider told the Daily Mail. ‘This smack talking of Cheryl Burke (pictured) was a scenario where she crossed the line’

Earle and her younger sister Ashtin (left) initially refused to accept Dupré into their family. Speaking on the Hot Mess podcast in 2023, they revealed how they ignored her when first introduced by their father, rejected gifts from her and would play pranks on her

Earle and her full sister Ashtin, 22, initially refused to accept Dupré into the family. Speaking on the Hot Mess podcast in 2023, they revealed how they ignored her when first introduced by their father, rejected gifts from her and would play pranks on her.

They recalled how they once filled her shoes with toothpaste and served her a garlic clove disguised as a chocolate-covered strawberry.

‘I don’t want people to think that… our parents got divorced and we were like, “Hey, we’re a big perfect family,” because it was like years and years of us fighting and hashing it out to get to this point that we’re at,’ Earle said on the episode. ‘I’m very grateful that we’re here.’

‘They come off as this perfect family, but like all families, they have their own issues and struggles. Alix is all about her reputation and this would’ve been something she would’ve been completely humiliated by.’