TJ Earle is shouldering the blame for the public scandal that shattered his first marriage.
Thomas “TJ” Earle, 53, appears in the premiere of Netflix’s “Earle Meets World” and states plainly that the 2008 affair that ended his marriage to Alisa Earle rests entirely on him. The construction executive, father to influencer Alix Earle, 25, and her sister Ashtin, speaks directly to the camera about the fallout from his relationship with Ashley Dupré, now 41.
“I didn’t know what the f–k to do,” TJ says in his confessional. “You have all these people around you [and] their whole world was blown up in a moment’s notice in a very public way.”
“It was all on me; it was all my fault.”
Ashley, who would later become Ashley Earle, had already become a national figure that same year. An FBI investigation identified her as an escort hired by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a revelation that forced Spitzer’s resignation and ultimately ended his marriage. In the Netflix series, Ashley describes how she entered that world while working as a cocktail waitress.
“I always thought it could be my secret forever,” she admits.
She explains that someone told her she could make “$1,000 an hour for going on dates with high-profile people.” TJ and Ashley met “by chance at a bar” while he remained married to Alisa, with whom he shared daughters Alix and Ashtin.
The affair became public when the outlet recognized Ashley at “a hotel in New York” and photographed the couple together, outing their relationship in the same year as the Spitzer scandal. Alisa Earle addresses the violation directly in her own confessional.
“That was a huge violation, and it was in the public eye, which made it more difficult,” she shares.
Alix was in second grade when paparazzi began trailing her family. She recalls the disruption in vivid detail, remembering photographers following them during mundane outings.
“There were paparazzi following us when we were going to get ice cream with my dad,” she says. After Ashley was introduced to the family as TJ’s girlfriend, the young Alix responded with small acts of rebellion, including putting “toothpaste” in Ashley’s shoes.
Despite the fracture, relationships eventually mended. TJ and Ashley married in 2013 and now share three children: daughters Izabel, 13, and Penelope, 11, and son Thomas, 9. Alisa notes that the birth of these half-siblings played a role in rebuilding family bonds.
“You don’t forget what happened,” she explains. “It doesn’t mean we can’t all get along and enjoy the people that we love.”
TJ acknowledges the long road back from infamy, admitting it “took a lot to come back” from the scandal that played out across tabloid pages. Alisa has since moved forward romantically and is currently dating New Jersey sales executive Todd Galski, who also appears in the series.
“Earle Meets World” is currently streaming on Netflix.