Before she was famous, Brandi Passante worked an unglamorous job at a carpet cleaning company. So how did this self-proclaimed "shy" girl become a reality TV star? From a "tumultuous" childhood to starring on "Storage Wars," Passante's rise was anything but normal.
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00:00Before she was famous, Brandi Passante worked an unglamorous job at a carpet-cleaning company.
00:06So how did this self-proclaimed shy girl become a reality TV star?
00:10From a tumultuous childhood to starring on Storage Wars, Passante's rise was anything
00:15but normal.
00:17Brandi Passante was born on May 16, 1980, in Harris County, Texas.
00:21Because she's been notoriously private about certain aspects of her personal life, not
00:25much is known about her childhood.
00:26However, she has spoken about it a handful of times.
00:30During an April 2013 interview with Lifetime, Passante did share that she's maintained some
00:34of her characteristics from childhood.
00:36She explained,
00:37"...I'm actually a very shy person.
00:38I was even shy as a child.
00:40I used to give everyone dirty looks."
00:42She also said that growing up with brothers helped toughen her up.
00:45On the Spirit Talk hosted by Siobhan & Sabrina podcast in February 2021, the reality star
00:51gave her fans a little more insight into her upbringing and revealed that she had a tumultuous
00:55childhood.
00:56Passante added,
00:57"...I think maybe that is why I'm funny, because if I'm not, then, you know, what else do I
01:03have?"
01:05On Storage Wars, it wasn't uncommon to witness a disagreement between Passante and her then-boyfriend
01:09Jared Schultz.
01:11After all, they'd been together for over a decade by the time the show premiered.
01:15Passante and Schultz met in 1999 when she began working as a sales manager at a carpet
01:19cleaning company in Tustin, California.
01:22In an August 2016 interview with Enquirer.net, Passante divulged that their relationship
01:27wasn't quite love at first sight, saying,
01:29"...That was a process.
01:30He wore me down.
01:31He was persistent."
01:32In response, Schultz explained that there was some complexity in their dynamic.
01:36He told the outlet,
01:37"...When Brandi and I started dating, technically I was her boss, and you were not supposed
01:41to do that.
01:42A mutual friend put notes on my truck reminding me to be nice to Brandi because I could be
01:46abrasive."
01:48When Passante and Schultz were on Storage Wars, their son Cameron and daughter Peyton
01:52made the occasional appearance.
01:54While more private details of their lives remain locked away, Passante gave an interview
01:58in June 2020, saying that her kids were 17 and 15 at the time.
02:02During her Lifetime interview in April 2013, the reality star spoke about how she juggles
02:07her career and parenting her kids.
02:09She revealed,
02:10"...I don't have much family outside of Jared and the kids, and Jared comes from a very
02:14small family, so when we were just starting out, we'd rely on neighbors and even some
02:18of Jared's buddies for extra support."
02:20While Passante has spoken about her children, she's also been hesitant to do so.
02:25In February 2020, the Storage Wars star shared an Instagram post of her daughter alongside
02:30a caption that explained the reason behind her fiercely private nature when it comes
02:34to her kids.
02:35She wrote,
02:36"...I stopped posting photos of my babies, because some creepy-ass dudes were harassing
02:40them.
02:41I am reluctantly posting this because I am so proud of how beautiful my little is in
02:44her winter formal fit."
02:46In December 2010, Storage Wars premiered, introducing the world to Passante and Schultz.
02:52The couple was dubbed the Young Guns, seeing as they were the youngest bidders on the show.
02:56Passante spoke with The Times-Standard in June 2013 about what a typical day of filming
03:00requires, saying,
03:01"...It's a lot of hard work.
03:03You go out to the auction, battle it out, get a unit, and then you have to move out
03:07and clean every inch of that storage unit and leave nothing behind.
03:10No trash, nothing.
03:12And then you have to figure out how to sell it."
03:14Fame is something the couple struggled with over the years, as they went on to appear
03:17in 11 seasons consecutively.
03:19In June 2020, she divulged the details about her behind-the-scenes experiences while speaking
03:25with Danny Jordan for the Dad Diary podcast.
03:27She explained,
03:28"...I got some scary letters in the very beginning.
03:31I did have to move at one point to, like, a guard-gated community."
03:34"...It was definitely life-changing.
03:35I did have to have a little bit of therapy about it.
03:37I didn't like to leave the house."
03:40In 2014, Passante and Schultz landed their own Storage Wars spinoff show, called Brandy
03:45and Jared, Married to the Job.
03:47In the first episode of the new series, viewers got an inside look into the couple's lives.
03:51From raising their two children to planning their wedding after 15 years of dating, the
03:55show shined a light on their personal lives in a way Storage Wars never had.
04:00While there were plenty of squabbles between Passante and Schultz, their dynamic proved
04:03television-worthy.
04:04In speaking with The Times-Standard in June 2013, Passante said it could be difficult
04:09to work with Schultz.
04:10She said,
04:11"...Working together as a couple every day is quite an obstacle to overcome.
04:14We're together 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to make business decisions
04:19together."
04:20Unfortunately, Brandy and Jared Married to the Job only lasted one season, but the couple
04:24went right back to their usual spot on Storage Wars soon afterward.
04:29Fans were shocked when, during the Storage Wars Season 13 premiere in 2021, Passante
04:34said that she and Schultz were no longer together.
04:37She later revealed that she had ended things with him after filming on Season 12 had wrapped
04:41in 2018.
04:42While the former couple could forgo a messy divorce, seeing as they were never married,
04:46Passante ended up with full custody of their two children.
04:49She had spoken about the split beforehand, telling The Dad Diary in June 2020 about parenting
04:55her teenage children on her own.
04:57She explained,
04:58"...I did a lot of it on my own anyway, but it's the scary dad voice in the background
05:01that we're missing.
05:02I have them all the time.
05:0424-7, they're here with me."
05:05She did add that things were going well for her, though, saying,
05:08"...I think we're good right now.
05:11I'm very happy with my life."
05:14Not only has Passante maintained a polished reputation throughout her career on Storage
05:18Wars, but she's also used her platform to shine a light on important causes.
05:22One of them was Women's Own Worth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting survivors
05:27of domestic violence.
05:29Passante had met the organization's founder and survivor of domestic abuse, Juwan Archer,
05:34through a friend of a friend.
05:36The Storage Wars star was moved by her story, and she ended up emceeing 2019's Wowapalooza,
05:41a Women's Own Worth event.
05:43Passante ultimately helped the organization raise over $100,000.
05:47As she told The Saline Courier at the time,
05:49"...I have experienced some things in my life, and it's a really wonderful cause.
05:53It's things that are needed, so I wanted to help in any way possible."
05:57While speaking with The Dad Diary, Passante explained how she came to host the event for
06:01Women's Own Worth, saying,
06:03"...Archer asked me if I would emcee their event, and she, she's like, but we just, we
06:07can't afford you.
06:08And I said, you don't have to pay me, you know, just get me there.
06:11And it was such an amazing experience, and I would love to continue to help them any
06:15way I can."
06:17Despite their breakup, Passante and Schultz continued working as co-stars on Storage Wars.
06:21Understandably, working with an ex came with its own drama and stress, especially because
06:26the show had painted them as rivals.
06:28As Passante told Distractify in 2021,
06:30"...It is a little tense, but we seem to get through it."
06:34Like any newly single person who just left a long-term relationship, Passante seemed
06:38to enjoy her newfound freedom.
06:40When Storage Wars went on hiatus during the pandemic, she took some time to rediscover
06:44herself.
06:45On Spirit Talk hosted by Siobhan and Sabrina, she explained her mindset, saying,
06:49"...I was describing it as sort of emotionally dead inside, you know, just kind of trying
06:53to find my place.
06:54I wasn't really allowed to have an identity for, you know, many, many years."
06:58"...So these last couple of years, I'm kind of coming into my own and figuring out who
07:03I am."
07:05COVID-19 left many without work, including those who would normally be in front of the
07:08camera.
07:09After Season 12 of Storage Wars wrapped in January 2019, the show finally returned with
07:14Season 13 in April 2021.
07:17Passante spoke with PopCulture.com at the time about her return to filming, and said
07:21she was getting bored during lockdown.
07:23While Passante has continued her appearances on Storage Wars, Schultz didn't return for
07:27Season 14.
07:28While this may have been related to his trouble with the law, there's no doubt this made filming
07:33easier on his ex.
07:34Passante came back for Season 15 in 2023, again with no Schultz in sight.
07:40Luckily for Passante, she has much more to offer than flipping antiques found in storage
07:44units.
07:45Fans have loved her candidness for years, making her a great candidate for a podcast.
07:50During a July 2021 episode of Happening Now with Hammer podcast, Passante was announced
07:55as the newest cast member, joining showrunners Hammer and Adam Malarchik.
07:59On her first episode as a regular, the reality star shared the best bar pickup line she'd
08:04heard, which was appropriate given she'd met Hammer in a dive bar.
08:07She said,
08:08"'Some guy came over to me and he said, do you like my shirt?
08:11I was like, I don't know, man, yeah, whatever.
08:13He asked, what is it made out of?
08:15And I was like, I don't know, cotton?
08:17He's like, boyfriend material.'"
08:19Her co-hosts cringed, but Passante laughed along, insisting it was a clever line.
08:24Since then, the Storage Wars star has returned regularly to the show to talk about things
08:28happening in Newport Beach and Orange County.
08:31Countless celebrities deal with health issues affecting their thyroid, and in April 2022,
08:36Passante revealed she was one of them.
08:38After an Instagram user asked the reality star,
08:40"'Why is your throat so scratchy?'
08:42She shared her response on her Instagram story and revealed that she lives with thyroid issues.
08:47She wrote,
08:48"'I suffer from Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects my thyroid.
08:52Sometimes it makes my throat raspy.'
08:54This health condition impacts around 5 in every 100 Americans, and can cause symptoms
08:59like fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, and an enlarged thyroid.
09:03It can also create a feeling of fullness in the throat.
09:06Hashimoto's disease affects several stars, including Leona Lewis, Gigi Hadid, Victoria
09:11Justice, and Zoe Saldana, and it's the most common cause of hypothyroidism.
09:16While it can cause further health issues, it is luckily a very treatable condition."
09:21Passante has made her opinions on Schultz clear throughout her time on Storage Wars
09:25and in interviews following their breakup.
09:27However, she's been pretty quiet about what exactly incited their split.
09:31Back in April 2021, a few years after she ended things with her Storage Wars co-star,
09:36an incident broke out between the exes at a bar in Orange County.
09:40Schultz was charged with one count of domestic violence battery against Passante after he
09:44allegedly pushed her.
09:46While she hasn't spoken out against her ex about the incident, she did share a telling
09:50post on Instagram in August 2022.
09:53Passante shared a picture of her tattoo, the word free with a bird on her finger, which
09:57she said she'd gotten touched up recently.
10:00She wrote in the caption,
10:01"'My little reminder of the strength that I finally, miraculously found, and all that
10:05I've accomplished.
10:06In spite of constantly being told that I was worthless, my reminder that I can be fearless
10:11and free to make my own choices without consequences."
10:14Underneath, Passante wrote,
10:16"'Hashtag Domestic Violence Awareness' and
10:19"'Hashtag Domestic Violence Survivor.'"
10:21If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
10:26Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
10:31You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
10:41For more information visit www.fema.gov