‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong!’ Laura Byrne speaks about being shamed for taking her newborn daughter Marlie-Mae into a smoking area at Bondi Icebergs
Laura Byrne has spoken about being shamed for taking her daughter Marlie-Mae into a smoking area at Sydney’s Bondi Icebergs, in July 2019.
Speaking on Mamamia’s new podcast Me After You, the 33-year-old said she felt ‘hurt and ashamed’ when she received backlash for sharing a photo with her fiance Matty ‘J’ Johnson and their one-week-old daughter, with a smoking sign nailed to the wall behind them.
‘I find it so interesting that people are quick to assume the worst too. It was simply a photo capturing a few seconds in our life and I actually wasn’t doing anything wrong,’ she said.
‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong!’ Laura Byrne (pictured) has spoken about being shamed for taking her newborn daughter Marlie-Mae into a smoking area at Bondi Icebergs in 2019
‘There had been no one else out on the balcony at the time and I hadn’t even noticed the sign. I responded to the first few, but quite quickly the comments started getting more and more pointed,’ she added.
Laura explained women were criticising her parenting and saying she was an ‘irresponsible’ mother for taking her new baby into a smoking area.
She said: ‘I felt deflated and overwhelmed. I was just trying to do the best I could as a new mum, which is why it felt so hurtful.’
Backlash: Laura said she felt ‘hurt and ashamed’ when she received backlash for sharing a photo with her fiance Matty ‘J’ Johnson and their one-week-old daughter, with a smoking sign nailed to the wall behind them
In July 2019, Laura shared a family photo to Instagram while enjoying her first family outing with her fiance and baby girl.
The Bachelor stars were having lunch at Bondi Icebergs, when they decided to step out onto the balcony for a quick photo in front of the scenic backdrop.
But many of her followers couldn’t look past the ‘SMOKING AREA’ sign nailed to the wall behind the trio.
‘I hope no one was smoking while you had your baby out there… cute photo,’ one person commented.
‘I felt deflated and overwhelmed!’ Laura explained women were criticising her and saying she was an ‘irresponsible’ mother for taking her new baby into a smoking area
The doting new mum replied, saying she hadn’t even noticed the sign behind them. ‘Everyone in front of us were dining. I didn’t even realise that behind us was the smoking area. Looks like just the one guy, we good,’ she commented.
Another follower wrote: ‘I love how you’re standing in the smoking area. Gorgeous lil (sic) fam (sic).’
Clearly getting fed up, Laura soon said that she was being attacked by the ‘mummy mafia’. ‘
Ahhhh s***, I didn’t even notice. We just went onto the balcony for a photo… Cue the mummy mafia!!!’ she responded.
Motherhood: Laura (pictured with her daughter Marlie-Mae) also explained it ‘was simply a photo capturing a few seconds in our life and I actually wasn’t doing anything wrong’