Intimate Portrait: Cortney Van Olphen – Sister, Assistant, and Survivor

Updated on: August 11, 2025

Basic Information

I like to think of biographies as backstage passes — an invitation to linger where the lights are warm, the wiring is messy, and the real stories happen between takes. Cortney Van Olphen’s story is exactly that kind of pass: not a marquee act, but the steady, vital presence just offstage. Below, I riff through family, career, the headline-making moments, and the stubborn misattributions that bend the public record.

Family, roles, and the sibling bond

Family is the spine of Cortney’s public narrative. Her mother, Erika Van Olphen, and her stepfather, Ron Van Olphen, are names that show up again and again in family profiles and social posts — the adult scaffolding behind two daughters who took very different paths into the public eye. Scheana Shay (half-sister) — born May 7, 1984 — is the louder star: a Vanderpump Rules alum, performer, podcaster, and the household name that often redirects attention toward Cortney.

But here’s the detail that makes the relationship cinematic: Cortney and Scheana are close in a way that looks like twin reflections across fame — shared shopping trips, matching quarantine hoodies in 2020, public expressions of gratitude when the family was shaken. That closeness explains why Cortney appears in stories tied to Scheana’s life; she’s family first, cameo second.

Career: the contested headline vs. the steady resume

If you scroll the rumor mill, you’ll find a few articles that list Cortney as a television personality, actress, or entrepreneur — roles that mirror Scheana’s resume and that, taken at face value, could rewrite Cortney’s life into a parallel celebrity arc. I don’t do that. Instead, I look for the neat, verifiable work: Cortney has been described consistently as a freelance social media manager and personal assistant, and there are mentions of a senior assistant role connected to domestic production work.

Think of it this way — while the tabloids hand out leading roles like confetti, Cortney’s real work reads like the essential credits on a film: production support, talent assistance, confidentiality and logistics. It’s the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the camera rolling.

A near-disaster that became a headline

Some chapters arrive uninvited. In 2019, Cortney and her boyfriend, Justice Horden, survived a terrifying car fire — their Jeep reportedly caught fire while driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The image is cinematic and harrowing: smoke, flames, the quick pivot to survival. Cortney filmed parts of the incident, and both she and Justice escaped physically unharmed. Moments like that do two things: they remind us how ephemeral daily life is, and they anchor a private person in public memory.

Public presence and social media

Cortney’s Instagram is the best accessible map of her public life — candid snapshots, family gatherings, and relationship posts with Justice Horden (together since 2018). She isn’t a reality-show regular in the way Scheana is; instead, her profile reads like a curated, personal window — private life with occasional public edges. That low-key presence is itself a choice: to be seen, but not exhaustively.

Misattributions and clarity — why people get confused

Here’s where the gossip-splice happens: Scheana Shay’s high-profile roles (Vanderpump Rules since 2013, various acting credits, music releases) create a gravity field that sometimes pulls Cortney’s biography into orbit. Headlines that call Cortney a TV personality or actress are, by multiple accounts, misattributions — probably a mix of keyword-snatching and algorithmic slippage. I always prefer the cleaner explanation: Cortney’s documented work is in social media and assistant roles; any entertainment credits attached to her are likely echoing Scheana’s résumé.

Numbers, dates, and the small facts that matter

— Scheana Shay: born May 7, 1984; public television presence since 2013. — Cortney & Justice Horden: together since 2018. — Car fire incident: 2019 — both escaped without physical injury. — Public profile: steady Instagram presence, few public controversies as of 2025; most mentions tie back to Scheana’s spotlight.

What you can expect if you search for Cortney

You’ll find family-oriented pieces, social posts, and a handful of lightweight profiles that conflate her with her sister. You will not — at least not reliably — find a filmography or a long entertainment résumé tied to her name. Instead, you’ll find a woman who exists both inside the orbit of a reality-TV sibling and outside it, doing the practical, confidential work that makes public lives possible.

FAQ

Who is Cortney Van Olphen?

Cortney Van Olphen is best known as the younger half-sister of Scheana Shay and as a freelance social media manager and personal assistant who maintains a relatively low public profile.

Is Cortney a television personality like her sister?

No — claims that Cortney is a TV personality or actress are likely misattributions; her documented professional roles center on social media and assistant work.

Who are Cortney’s family members?

Her mother is Erika Van Olphen, her father/stepfather is Ron Van Olphen, and her half-sister is Scheana Shay (born May 7, 1984).

What happened in the 2019 car fire?

In 2019, Cortney and her boyfriend Justice Horden escaped a Jeep that caught fire while driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles; both were unharmed.

Is Cortney married and who is her partner?

Cortney has been in a relationship with businessman Justice Horden since 2018, and there’s no public record of marriage.