Matt Howard and Abby Howard are popular on TikTok and are known for their popular opinions in their podcasts. unplanned podcastThe internet believes the couple is in trouble after leaving their one-year-old and two-year-old children alone in their cabin on a cruise ship.
Now, the couple is defending themselves against the massive backlash and explaining that it was just a big misunderstanding.
Last week, the podcast co-hosts took their sons Griffin, 2, and August, 1, on a family cruise. The couple documented part of their experience on social media. In a since-deleted Instagram Story, Abby shared how she and Matt went to dinner without the kids and used FaceTime to monitor them in the room.
“So we ended up taking them for 5 nights and it was clear they didn’t like it and therefore we didn’t like it either,” the viral mom wrote on Instagram, referring to the daycare onboard the cruise ship.
“So we moved dinner to after their bedtime and FaceTimed on the monitor while we ate.”
Abby also noted that their baby monitor “doesn’t work on a cruise ship unless the distance is only 10 feet.” Of their dinner solution, she added, “It’s better for everyone.”
Social media users were quick to respond to the Howards’ decision to leave their son unattended on the boat, creating videos detailing safety concerns about the situation. Some even claimed that if the incident had occurred within the United States, they would have been investigated by Child Protective Services.
After the initial story gained traction, Matt and Abby released a video denying the accusations against them.
“The information being circulated about us is completely untrue,” Matt began. “So we just want to set the record straight and clear up the misunderstanding because we take our job as parents very seriously. We love our children more than anything in the world. We are very protective of our children.
Matt explained that he and Abby had just returned from a seven-night cruise with Abby’s extended family, including grandparents, and Abby posted a story on Instagram while having dinner without the kids. A photo of her dinner plate is displayed next to the phone.
She noted that while the children were sleeping, she was on a “video call” on the baby monitor. she did it no Be aware that there are actually any adults there and children.
“People began to speculate and believe that we left our children alone in their rooms. This is completely untrue because we have people on this boat with our children all the time, period,” Matt claimed.
Abby chimed in, noting that she understands her “story did lead to misunderstandings,” noting that’s why she deleted the original post.
“I do want to say a huge thank you to those who care about our children’s safety and well-being as parents. It’s our primary concern, but it does mean a lot to know that others have the same concerns about our precious boy. So thank you You guys,” she said before denying the accusations against them.
“But I do want to make it clear that we never, never, ever leave our children unattended. We never intend for them to be harmed in any way,” she said.
Abby went on to explain that her children “sleep in blackout tents every night,” which have a place for stereos and baby monitors. She and Matt always have their monitors on, even when they’re in the same place as the kids.
This seems normal to me. My daughter is five and I still check her monitor every now and then to see how she is doing.
“We just love paying attention to them. We always care about them. That’s why even if we would, you know, take turns at family dinner, we would have FaceTime on so we could also pay attention to them as their parents. You know, We weren’t the ones paying attention to them all the time, and we were so grateful for them…because we spent a lot of time in our stateroom on this ship, operating the baby monitor.
Matt ended the video by once again thanking Abby’s extended family for helping with child care during the cruise.
Comments from TikTok users were met with overwhelming support, with many noting that they knew there had to be more to the story because only never Two parents with large extended families will be left with a baby and a toddler alone In a cruise ship hotel room, right?
Others on TikTok were less convinced…
“This is unbelievable,” one user wrote.
“They are covering themselves up. If there are other people in the room, you don’t FaceTime to your monitor… you can FaceTime them!” another pointed out.
“If someone is watching the kids, why would they say ‘wait until the kids go to bed before eating dinner’?” another questioned.
Are these two telling the truth, or is it a bit fishy? There’s probably no way to know.
