The latest and wildest TikTok drama isn’t coming from one of the well-known stars on the app—it’s coming from one of their parents. I know what you’re thinking: Why TF are we talking about the dad of a TikToker? Turns out, Addison Rae’s dad, Monty Lopez, has a 5.4 TikTok following of 5.4 million (what am I doing wrong in life) and is something of a celeb himself. But we’re talking about him because news of his affair broke, and it is dramatic. There’s cheating, lying, a pregnancy scare, and it’s a lot. As always, we’re here to explain WTF is going on so you don’t have to watch 10,000 explainer TikToks.
Here’s the backstory: Lopez married Sheri Nicole Easterling in 2017 and together they have three kids (Addison Rae, TikTok star extraordinaire, and two younger sons). (Lopez and Easterling had previously gotten divorced and were on-and-off for most of Rae’s childhood.)
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, a 25-year-old woman named Renée Ash alleges she has been having a five-month affair with Lopez after meeting each other through a mutual friend. Ash spoke out about the affair to Page Six, sharing screenshots of their text messages and sharing more information about their relationship.
“Unfortunately, he misled me on his marriage, he lied to me,” said Ash. “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. He told me a story of his marriage that convinced me that they were apart and in the process of getting a divorce.”
Simultaneously, Lopez has been accused by several young women of hitting on them while partying. These incidents were ultimately why Ash broke things off with Lopez last week. “I loved him and I believed him,” said Ash. “When I found out about the other young girls, my heart broke. I am so sorry if anything I have said has hurt his family any more than he already has.”
The screenshots of Ash and Lopez’s texts show Lopez making promises of moving in together, getting married, starting a family, and explaining that he had a “weird relationship” with Easterling. Ash shares that in one text message, Lopez told her that he left his wife for “bitching and f*cking with” him and, in another message, warned Ash against acting the same way. Ash also says she had a pregnancy scare in June, during which she says she “had no support from” Lopez. Ash texted Lopez, “You handled my pregnancy scare really poorly […] especially after you kept saying I’ll never pull out and I want to marry you.” Screenshots obtained by Page Six show Lopez responding to the pregnancy news by texting, “Just wait it out” and “Your [sic] not.”
Just hours before Ash’s story came out, Easterling released a statement saying “personal matters being brought public are always challenging and overwhelming.” Easterling went on to share that her “biggest concern is—and always will be—my children and their fragile hearts and minds. I will always do my best to protect them.” She changed her Instagram bio to “single mom.”
Meanwhile, Addison Rae has unfollowed her dad on Instagram. Lopez’s bio, however, still reads “husband to @sherinicole.”
Images: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Netflix
