TikTok couple Matt and Abby deny leaving toddlers alone on cruise amid backlash
INSTAGRAM: abbyelizabethowardTikTok couple Matt and Abby have responded after being criticized for allegedly leaving their toddlers alone on a cruise while they went out for dinner.
Matt and Abby Howard, some of TikTok‘s most well-known couples, faced backlash on social media for leaving their two-year-old and 12-month-old sons alone in a room during a family cruise.
“So we ended up taking them for 5 nights and it became apparent that they weren’t enjoying it and therefore we weren’t either,” Abby shared on her Instagram story.
She continued: “So, THEN we switched our dinner time to AFTER their bedtime and FaceTIMED the monitors while we ate. And that worked out muchhhh better for everyone!”
According to the mother of two, their baby monitors didn’t “work on board” unless parents were within “10 feet” of the device.
Although the couple found a solution to monitor their toddlers while enjoying a dinner date, they faced a wave of social media backlash.
“Cool, FaceTime a baby monitor so you can watch something bad happen and still be unable to do anything about it. And let’s advertise it to the whole world too,” one critic wrote. “There is something wrong with both of them. What if the ship flooded? What if there was a fire?” another added.
“HOW does one think this is safe and okay?!? and then to post about it online, they know people are going to have a lot to say about this and it’s going to boost their engagement,” a third said.
Before the scandal, Abby had shared extra stories and photos on Instagram about the trip with her 1.3 million followers. However, all of those posts have since been removed from her page.
Matt and Abby deny leaving kids alone on cruise
On September 17, Matt and Abby took to Instagram to address the backlash and deny leaving their toddlers unattended in the cruise.
“We take our role as parents extremely seriously, and we love our children more than anything in the entire world. We’re very protective of our kids,” Matt said in the video. “People started to speculate and believe that we had left our children alone in their staterooms, and that is just completely untrue.”
Matt firmly emphasized that their two toddlers had someone watching them “at all times on this boat. Period.”
“I can see where my story did lead to misunderstanding,” Abby said. “Which is why I ended up deleting it several hours after posting it because I could see that it was causing concern and misunderstanding.”
Abby then clarified the “baby monitor situation” by explaining that their kids sleep in a “blackout tent” that includes a spot for a monitor.
“We always turn their monitor on so we can watch and see what’s happening inside the tent — make sure they’re OK, see if they’ve fallen asleep or if they’ve woken up,” she shared. “We just love to have eyes on them, we’re always concerned about them.”