Steph Claire Smith has hit back at a follower who suggested husband Josh Miller was being neglectful.
The criticism came after the fitness influencer, 31, revealed on her Instagram story that Josh had gone away on a ‘boys’ trip’ to the snow, leaving Steph at home with their two children – Harvey, four, and Billie, two months.
The follower slid into Steph’s DMs to slam Josh for leaving the parental duties solely on Steph’s shoulders while he was off enjoying himself.
‘But why does your husband need time with mates? Like, what about you? Doesn’t sound like time alone for you nor a vacation for you,’ the fan wrote in the message shared to Steph’s Instagram story on Thursday.
‘Like, I could never imagine my husband going on a snow trip with friends while I’m with basically the newborn baby.
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Steph Claire Smith has hit back at a follower who suggested husband Josh Miller was being neglectfu
‘Like WTFFF? He’s always with me or one of the babies.
‘Also not to mention, you’re the one who works on top of it all. Sorry but that doesn’t feel right. I can’t imagine.’
Steph shot down the suggestion that Josh was neglecting his young family with an expansive response.
‘This DM rattled me and I want to talk about it,’ she began.
‘Our dynamic is, sadly unique. Me being the working parent and Josh being the stay-at-home dad is unlike the majority.’
She added that while their situation was not the norm, it had taught her a lot about relationships.
‘This dynamic has taught me a lot though. Really it’s taught us both a lot about understanding the other person’s perspective and position in the relationship,’ she added.
Steph also pointed out that, after children, a father’s life changes as dramatically as the mother’s.
The criticism came after the fitness influencer, 31, revealed on her Instagram story that Josh had gone away on a ‘boys’ trip’ to the snow, leaving Steph at home with their two children – Harvey, four, and Billie, two months
The follower slid into Steph’s DMs to slam Josh for leaving the parental duties solely on Steph’s shoulders while he was off enjoying himself
‘Dads’ lives change too when they become parents,’ she said.
‘Sure, their body doesn’t go through what ours does through pregnancy and postpartum… a lot of the time, they are the ones that kind of get to go back to their lives/work in their career.
‘But it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve time with friends or time to themselves.’
Still not done with her response, Steph added that Josh’s contribution to the family as a stay-at-home dad was immeasurable.
‘As partners, we check in on each other constantly and encourage each other to fill up our cups,’ she said.
‘I’ve always encouraged him to book in some time out of the house and to connect with friends.
‘And same goes for me. When I’m not working, I’m craving time with my kids, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also deserve me time/alone time and/or time with friends to recharge.
She continued: ‘Josh does so much to support me and our family. He is constantly putting us first. I’m so sorry but he absolutely deserves his time away.’
Steph and Josh share two children – Harvey, four, and Billie, two months
She rounded out her response, suggesting that the follower think before they post.
‘Next time you feel like writing this to someone, pause to think to yourself: “Am I projecting my own personal frustrations and feelings onto someone else’s life choices?”‘
Still not done dressing down the follower, she continued with another story slamming the message as ‘contradictory’.
‘Also, the “you’re the one who works on top of it all” was a little contradictory because generally men who are the working parent are the ones who feel like they can’t go out and see their friends because of either the guilt they feel for their partner at home carrying the load… or they generally want to spend their non-working hours with their kids.
‘At the end of the day, no matter your gender, no matter whether you stay at home or work, you deserve time with friends.
‘Unless of course you’re never home and never doing anything to help with the load at home.
‘Then yes, get your butt home and prioritise giving the stay-at-home partner a break.’
She then shared a third post that praised both stay-at-home and working parents.
‘And then there’s dads like Josh who do both, and constantly put themselves last. You deserve me-time, too,’ she wrote.
