The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys provides a glimpse into the lives of Steven “Steve” McBee and his family as they manage their farm in Missouri. However, life on the farm has had its challenges.
Steve’s marriage to Kristi McBee ended after 28 years when infidelity came to light, prompting Kristi to file for divorce. The couple, parents to Steven McBee Jr., Jesse McBee, Cole McBee, and Brayden McBee, separated in 2019.
Despite personal difficulties, Steve pursued his vision of expanding McBee Farm & Cattle Co. with the support of his sons. However, in November 2024, Steve admitted guilt to a charge of federal crop insurance fraud, which disrupted the family and their business.
In July 2025, Steven shared with Us Weekly, “We take it day by day. The situation is still ongoing. We’re hoping to have it wrapped up and have some finality to it before the end of the year. That’s the goal, just so we can move on and say, ‘OK, we’ve got this figured out. We can start life again now.’” Steve received a two-year prison sentence in October 2025.
Scroll down to relive the McBee family’s highs and lows, starting with the purchase of their farm in the ’90s:
1998
Steve McBee. Paul Andrews/PEACOCK
Steve purchased his initial 300-acre plot of land in Missouri.
2005
After acquiring additional land and facing difficulties with a local farmer he had employed, Steve took over farming responsibilities himself, as noted on the company’s website.
2009
Cole McBee. Emerson Miller/PEACOCK
Steve expanded the farm to include cattle ranching and later added buffalo to their livestock.
2018
After Steven began working full-time at the farm, he launched Apex Protein Snacks, offering high-protein meat snacks, such as jerky and travel sticks.
2019
“Steve and I were married 28 years. Then I started finding out there was a lot of infidelity,” Kristi revealed during season 2 of The McBee Dynasty, noting that she filed for divorce in 2019.
After their split, Kristi founded her own company, Lan-Tel Communications. “Steve definitely said that I was going to run it into the ground within six months,” she said in a July 2025 episode of the Bravo series, describing her business as “communications, underground construction and [a] concrete company.”
She revealed, “We’ve been able to grow the business three times the size that it was. Little sweet revenge.”
2022
Steven starred on Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, which premiered in January. On the show, he met Calah Jackson. The couple dated on and off from 2021 to 2024.
That June, the McBees opened their first McBee’s Coffee N’ Carwash in Missouri. As of September 2025, there were eight locations in Missouri and three in Arkansas.
2023
Steven and Jesse McBee. Courtesy of Steven McBee/Instagram
In summer 2023, the family expanded their business and opened the McBee Meat Co. facility in Lamoni, Iowa, bringing their products from farm to table. That same year, the group filmed season 1 of the The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys.
2024
Jesse and Alli McBee. Paul Andrews/Bravo
The McBee Dynasty premiered on Peacock in March, following the family’s lives as farmers and ranchers. That September, the family launched their “Meet the McBees” podcast.
In October, second eldest son Jesse married his high school sweetheart, Alli McBee, in Missouri. One month later, Steve pleaded guilty to his part in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.
The McBee Dynasty’s Steven “Steve” McBee Sr. took a step back from the Bravo series during season 2, later revealing his FBI investigation was to blame. As a result, his sons, Steven McBee Jr., Jesse McBee, Cole McBee and Brayden McBee, took over his responsibilities on their family farm in Missouri and also helmed their […]
Steve was charged in November with one count of federal crop insurance fraud after being accused of falsifying reports about his crop yields and misrepresenting his crop usage. His sentencing took place the following year.
Amid all the turmoil, the McBees celebrated the birth of Cole and girlfriend Kacie Adkison’s first baby, daughter Blair, in December. Blair is the first grandchild of Steve and Kristi.
2025
Steven and Kristi McBee with babies Summer and Blair McBee. Courtesy of Steven McBee/Instagram
The McBees expanded their brood in April with the birth of Jesse and Alli’s first baby, daughter Summer.
In June, season 2 of The McBee Dynasty premiered on Bravo. It was renewed for season 3 that October.
As fans learned in more detail about Steve’s legal woes, the family awaited his sentencing, which took place in October. A judge ruled that Steve must serve two years in prison with two more years of supervised release. Us confirmed that Steve was ordered to pay $4,022,124 in restitution. He also owed approximately $3 million in fines. According to court documents, Steve had until 2 p.m. on December 1 to self-surrender.
In happier news, Cole proposed to longtime girlfriend Kacie in November with a little help from their daughter Blair.
2026
Allie Eklund and Steven McBee Jr. Todd Williamson/Bravo
In March, Cole and Kacie announced that they are expecting their second baby, another girl.
The following month, Steven shocked fans when he accused his girlfriend, Allie Eklund, of cheating on him during the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California.
“I still don’t know exactly what happened,” he shared via an Instagram video in April. “I just know there was hand holding, grinding, dancing, drunken stupor at an afterparty.”
Steven continued, “I have no f***ing clue what was going through her mind at the afterparty other than there’s a hole there that needs attention all the time. … I thought there was some loyalty there.”
Allie later broke her silence on the situation and said it was “extremely disheartening and extremely unfair” that he posted their business on social media.
“I’ve handled everything in this relationship privately and with respect, even when it hasn’t been easy,” she shared via an Instagram Story. “This situation is painful, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I’m not looking to escalate things any further, I’d like this to end here. I’ve said what feels necessary in response to his actions and I plan on taking time to process and move forward.”
Allie made her McBee Dynasty debut two months later, sharing her first kiss with Steven on camera during a season 3 episode, which aired in June. (The show was filmed in fall 2025.)
