‘That’s Not the Girl’s Biological Dad’: Viral McClure Twins Might Lose Out on Millions Over Stepdad’s ‘Insane’ Plan and Their Mom Has Said Nothing About It
Viral internet stars Justin and Ami McClure are taking their fans behind the scenes of their lives as digital content creators by appearing in a new docuseries.
The married couple and their 12-year-old twin daughters, Ava and Alexis, as well as their 7-year-old son Jersey, star in Freeform’s “Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers.”
Ava and Alexis, from Ami’s previous relationship, were adopted by Justin after marrying their mom in 2015. ABC News Studios filmed footage of the McClures, along with other families who built audiences online, for over five years.
In one “Born to Be Viral” episode, Justin discussed plans for the finances generated by his kids. He revealed how much money his stepdaughters, Ava and Alexis, will receive on their 18th birthday.
“I have a certain amount that I think they should have by the time that they’re 18 years old. So they can buy a house, not so they can waste it and buy a Lamborghini or purses,” Justin, 50, said.
He continued, “But that’s around $500,000. That should be enough. I’m not a fan of giving a child millions of dollars.” Ami sat beside her husband during the on-camera confessional.
A clip of Justin’s comments about setting aside funds for the child stars was posted by OnSite. People on social media shared their takes on the remarks, with a lot of focus placed on Ami’s reaction in the video.
“The mom don’t agree, girl, stand up for your girls. Give them all their money,” one person on Instagram declared. A second wrote, “The fact that the mother is allowing this man, who is not biologically their father, do this is insane.”
A third commenter wrote, “That’s not the girl’s biological dad, and by the look on Mom’s face, she ain’t going for that.” Yet another wondered, “So what y’all doing with the rest???”
Justin caught direct heat, too. A critic expressed, “Not a fan of giving your children what they earned, but you’re a fan of taking money from them… oh, okay.”
A more balanced responder posted, “They don’t need all their money at 18, but they need all their money.” One comment read, “Sounds like he’s giving them a certain amount at 18. Could be giving them the rest later.”
Justin and Ami run “The Mighty McClures” YouTube channel, which launched in 2017. The popular family vlog page currently has 4.1 million subscribers and has racked up over 1.5 billion views.
Ava and Alexis have a separate “McClure Twins” channel with 4.5 million subscribers. The pre-teen sisters, who have been in the online spotlight since they were 3 years old, have amassed more than 2.6 billion views.
As of this writing, their most recent YouTube content was published on July 19. Alexis and Ava’s 10-minute video covered their 12th birthday celebration featuring friends and family members.
Some of their most-watched content has accumulated over five million plays on the platform. For instance, a video of the siblings pretending to be their mom from 2020 has 12 million views.
The McClure Twins’ Instagram page presently has 2.4 million followers. Their younger brother, Jersey, hosts his own YouTube channel and Instagram account as well. Jersey has 664,000 YouTube subscribers and 225,000 Instagram followers.
“We probably make around $30,000 on YouTube per month. That’s great money. And all we do is keep the machine going,” Justin told “The Creative Independent” in a March 2025 interview.
In the second episode of the “Born to Be Viral” series, Ami admitted that brand partnerships and YouTube advertisements bring in up to $150,000 per month. Ava and Alexis reportedly made about $125,000 from a promotional deal with Nike.
“People have to realize that money is great, but money that compromises what you are or might make people look at you differently is not so great,” Ami, 43, stated in a 2024 interview with Net Influencer.
Ami insisted she and her husband had a goal of transforming their family’s viral success into sustained cash flow, telling the outlet, “We took that virality and turned it into a long-term business.”
Justin and Ami initially met in 2014 when Ava and Alexis were still babies. The twins were born the year prior, in July 2013. Ami married Justin on July 13, 2015, which happened to be Alexis and Ava’s second birthday. The couple’s only son, Jersey, arrived in November 2017.
Ami was married to the girls’ biological father, Justin Pestka, at the time of their birth. In 2018, the former accountant addressed having a new spouse to help her raise her two daughters and separating from her first husband.
“Justin adopted the girls. He is their dad. He is the only dad they’ve ever known, and he will be the only dad they’ll ever know,” Ami explained.
The Nigerian-American also stated, “In 2012, I married a man I knew I should not have married. And finding out I was pregnant with the girls gave me the courage to get out of that relationship because I knew that I could not bring children into a toxic and an abusive environment.”