Pam Stepnick, the mother of internet stars Logan and Jake Paul, has made explosive claims about her tumultuous relationship with the boys’ father, her ex-husband Greg Paul, in her newly published memoir F*** the Pauls: Written by Their Mother.
Out now, the book chronicles her experience raising her two sons, their ascent to global fame, and includes advice for fellow parents. Logan, 30, and Jake, 29, influencers-turned-professional athletes, first rose to fame in 2013 for posting comedy and prank clips on the now-defunct social media app Vine.
Both 62, Stepnick, a nurse, and Greg, a realtor and commercial roofer, divorced around 2004, before the boys were 10. Following their split, Stepnick married David Stepnick, while Greg is currently in a relationship with a longtime girlfriend.
In the book’s early chapters, Stepnick detailed the initial cracks in their marriage and how her ex-husband’s failed business venture with her godfather and uncle led to a major family rift.
“My family became the price I paid. The big, noisy life full of cousins, aunts, and uncles faded into an eerie quiet,” she wrote. “Soon, it was just me and Greg, locked in our little world. I think that’s exactly how he wanted it. To make matters worse, the family feud would drive a wedge between Greg and me as well. I was angry that he caused a rift with my family, and he was angry with me for my family not supporting us. Each of us became bitter.”
“I probably married too young and for the wrong reasons,” she admitted. “I was afraid to be alone. I was looking for safety. My values didn’t align with Greg’s, and I should have known that from our first date.”
Stepnick said that their problems only got worse once they had children. She claimed that once she filed for divorce, she was “bullied into ‘shared parenting.’”
“In hindsight, I’ve realized two things: shared parenting gave Greg the opportunity to be a better dad,” she added, alleging, “Unfortunately, it also gave him the opportunity to alienate them from me, and emotionally control them.”
Stepnick continued: “Instead of looking in the mirror, Greg had a scapegoat and blamed the entire divorce on David. He would tell the kids I was a gold digger and a liar. He told my sons I was having some sort of sordid affair. My sons heard this refrain again and again when they were children.
“Alienating your children from their mother is another form of abuse,” she said, urging readers: “Never use your children as pawns in divorce or any adult drama.”
Poignantly reflecting on their broken marriage, Stepnick penned: “Even though the ink wouldn’t dry on our divorce papers for a few more years, our vows to love and cherish each other were broken.
“I had stayed in my marriage for my children, but at that moment, it struck me that being their father’s punching bag would traumatize them more than my leaving him.”
The Independent has contacted Greg Paul for comment.
On a previous episode of their one-season family reality show, Paul American, Greg was confronted by his sons about how he raised them.
“Yeah man, my dad was physical with us,” Logan said in a piece-to-camera. “Jake will use the word ‘abusive.’ I will not because I don’t believe we were abused. That’s such a charged word. And my dad will take offense to that as well.”
“To me, abuse is things that are over the top, going way beyond, things you are doing out of anger or under the influence,” Greg argued in a separate interview. “You know, yelling in a rage and yelling with a firm tone… two different things.”
F*** the Pauls: Written by their Mother is out now.
