When Cheer premiered in January 2020, the Netflix show became an instant hit.
Because of the show, the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team received national attention for their sport, which is often not taken seriously in comparison to others.
Just days after their head coach Monica Aldama announced her plans to retire after 30 years, DailyMail.com has looked into what the breakout names from the docuseries are up to today.
In the first season of Cheer, cameras followed Aldama and her team as they trained for the NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer & Dance Championship in 2019.
The hit docuseries garnered massive praise and was greenlit for a renewal.
However, production was quickly halted right after it began in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In just three years, some of the stars went on to become successful influencers or face massive scandal or even landed in jail. Here is what happened to the cast…
MONICA ALDAMA
In 2020, Aldama competed on season 29 of Dancing with the Stars with Val Chmerkovskiy.
The 51-year-old cheerleading coach ranked 10th place with the pro dancer.
In January 2022, she released a memoir titled Full Out! Leadership Lessons from America’s Favorite Coach.
Over the weekend, she announced her plans to retire from coaching after 30 years.
The news comes a month after she was dismissed from a lawsuit that accused her of covering up a cheerleader’s sexual assault.
JERRY HARRIS
In September 2020, Harris was arrested by the FBI and charged with several federal crimes including producing child pornography.
Three months after his arrest, he plead guilty to two charges of sexual assault and soliciting sexually explicit photos and videos.
Last year Harris, 23, was sentenced to serve 12 years in federal prison followed by eight years of supervised release. Harris has been permanently banned by USASF and USA Cheer.
The civil case also helped paved the way for a subsequently string of federal cheerleading sex abuse lawsuits.
One of those was a high-profile lawsuit filed in 2020 by two underage cheerleaders who alleged they were sexually harassed and abused by Harris.
The then-13-year-old twins alleged that the Cheer star ‘befriended’ them in 2018 at several cheerleading events but pressuring them to send him explicit photos and for oral sex.
Last January, a month after Harris’ sentencing, the twins appeared in an episode of the second season of Cheer to describe their ordeal.
In the original petition, the twins were seeking at a least $1 million. That same year, the lawsuit reached a settlement.
MORGAN SIMIANER
Simianer returned to Navarro for the 2019-2020 season but ended up retiring from doing cheer competitively.
Earlier this year, she tied the knot with her now-husband Stone Burleston in Hickory Creek, Texas on May 28.
The couple had been engaged for over one year and together for two.
Many of her fellow castmates from Cheer attended her fairytale castle wedding, she told People ahead of her nuptials earlier this year.
Austin Bayles remains her close friend and attended her bachelorette party ahead of her wedding.
‘I feel like it’s a whole family reunion with all of us,’ she said at the time. ‘There’ll be people from the Netflix docuseries, the producer of Cheer. People that went on tour with me for Cheer Live. We have just so many people.’
LA’DARIUS MARSHALL
Marshall went on to cheer at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
In February 2023, a feud was reignited with Marshall and his former co-star and friend, Gabriella ‘Gabi’ Butler.
Previously, she received backlash for a resurfaced photo of herself wearing blackface.
He weighed in on the scandal and said he talked to her privately to explain that he did not believe it was a ‘good idea’.
He said even though he called her out for ‘lying’ and ‘throwing other people of color under the bus’, he has remained friends with Butler and said he has ‘always loved her’.
Just weeks later, he dropped the bombshell that the pair were once intimately involved at Navarro.
In a TikTok video, he said he would no longer be defending her as he had only ever done so because of the nature of their relationship.
He even claimed that they were together up until 2021 as shown in since-deleted TikTok videos of them kissing and cuddling.
In April, it was revealed that he had been suspended by cheerleading’s governing bodies due to a potential violation of the sport’s athlete protection policies.
The details surrounding his suspension and what prompted the investigation remain unknown.
GABRIELLA ‘GABI’ BUTLER
After graduating from Navarro, the 25-year-old television personality also went on to study at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
In November 2022, it was revealed she signed a contract with WWE and has started training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to become a professional wrestler.
Although she won’t be getting into the ring for a real match just yet, she told People at the time that she is up for the challenge and will still continuing cheering in the meantime.
She has also become a successful social media influencer and has over 1.9 million followers on Instagram.
Butler has been dating fellow cheerleader Ricky Nunn for over a year. The pair celebrated their anniversary this past June.
LEXIS ‘LEXI’ BRUMBACK
While she was kicked off the team amid legal trouble during the 2019 season, she returned for the sophomore season of Cheer.
In early episodes, it was revealed that she was suspended after illegal substances were found in the car she was traveling in with her friends. The charges were later dropped.
Earlier this year, the 23-year-old tumbler announced that she came out of cheer retirement after three years and would be joining the California Allstars SMOED squad.
MACKENZIE ‘SHERBS’ SHERBURN
Sherburn was a flyer on the Navarro team and suffered a brutal fall, dislocating her shoulder during the third episode of the series.
She went on to cheer at Texas Tech University and graduated in August 2021.
Nowadays, she is an influencer boasting over 260,000 followers on Instagram and remains close friends with her Cheer costar, James Thomas.
Earlier this year, she had attended Simianer’s stunning wedding with Thomas and shared photos of them alongside their friends at the stunning venue.
AUSTIN BAYLES
Bayles graduated from Navarro in May 2019. After graduating, he started cheering at Texas Tech University.
In 2021, he competed with Sherbs and Shannon Woolsey in Daytona and took home second place with their co-ed team.
That following year, he competed with Woolsey again and they brought home the second place trophy with their team despite him suffering from an ankle injury during the national championship event.
In May 2022, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Health Professions.
SHANNON WOOLSEY
Like Bayles, Woolsey also followed the same career path from Navarro to Texas Tech University. She graduated in May 2022.
She has also become an influencer with over 200,000 followers on Instagram.
Woolsey got engaged to personal trainer Ben Christian after less than one year together.
Besides planning their upcoming wedding, the pair are also co-owners of Pro Fitness Gym in Texas.
However, the couple have not posted each other on Instagram since late 2022.
According to her Instagram profile, she is now the assistant cheer coach for Texas Tech.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
