Today, Alexa is 33, married and the mother of three beautiful children.
The former actress married ex-popstar Carlos PenaVega in 2014, after ex-husband Sean Covel in 2012.
Carlos himself was also a child star, coming to fame for his role in music group ‘Big Time Rusk’, and for his portrayal of himself in the Nickelodeon series of the same name.
While Alexa did take on a few reasonably successful roles as an adult, including From Prada to Nada, and a number of Hallmark Christmas films, she ended up quitting acting and city life entirely.
Just recently, she revealed why.
Speaking to Fox, Alexa revealed that she and her husband had felt “trapped” in the industry while living in Los Angeles, and after a while, just couldn’t stand the trajectory of their lives.
“We’d always talked about moving to Hawaii, but later on in life, like a retirement plan,” she said. “But we also knew that we didn’t want to raise our kids in Los Angeles.”
She admitted that at the time, her partner was having a tough time career-wise.
“Carlos was really struggling with the industry,’ she shared. ‘Every audition he went on, it would get down between him and one other guy and the other guy would always get it.
“The rejection was just becoming too much for him. This went on for a full year. At the time, I was pregnant.”
Completely stuck, the pair took months to rethink where they were, and finally landed on a decision. They were going to pack up their lives and move to rural Hawaii.
Alexa says while at first it had felt like a good move for Carlos, she quickly realised how much it was a good move for her, too.
“I was the one trapped in the entertainment world and needed to take a step back. My job became my identity,” she admitted.
The pair are now happily raising their three children, Ocean King, 5, Kingston James, 3, and Rio Rey, 1, in a secluded part of the island.
