New Mom Heather Rae El Moussa Gets Backlash For Her 'Mom-Tip' After An 'Incredible' First Flight With Her Newborn On A Private Jet
Most new moms don't have the luxury of flying privately, yet Heather El Moussa's experience is still valid.
Instagram Heather Rae El Moussa, star of "Selling Sunset" and "The Flipping El Moussas," welcomed a baby with her husband Tarek El Moussa on January 31, 2023. The couple, whose combined net worth is estimated at $18 million, have captured their growing family on social media, as many new parents do, yet their parenthood experience doesn’t exactly follow the traditional arc.
Heather recently took her newborn son on a trip and documented his first time flying on Instagram, but her update wasn’t received by followers the way she intended.
The reality TV star and luxury real estate agent came under fire for an Instagram post about her baby’s first flight on a private jet.
Heather, 35, posted a photo of herself holding her three-month-old son, Tristan while flying to Arizona on a privately chartered plane. In the caption, she gushed over “our little traveling boy,” explaining, “Took Tristan on his first flight ever with Tay and Bray so they could see us in our element. Tristan did an incredible job.”
She offered the “mom-tip,” of nursing the baby during takeoff and landing to soothe the baby during the pressure change and help with ear-popping, stating, “It worked perfectly, and then the rest of the flight, he just giggled, played, and looked around was so happy and didn’t cry once.”
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“He loved the new environment,” she exclaimed, which isn’t entirely surprising — any human would love to fly without putting up with the hassle of commercial airlines.
But Heather didn’t stop there. “He also slept the longest he’s ever slept at the hotel and it was great because in between speaking or in between events I would rush back to breastfeed him. He was such an angel. Proud mama moment.”
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Not all moms appreciated Heather's advice and criticized her post’s lack of relatability.
“Love that it went well, but many moms can’t relate to your flight experience on a private jet.” one follower acknowledged. “Of course it was GREAT,” someone else commented. “Try flying commercial.”
“Private jets do not count as ‘traveling’ on his first flight. Once you are surrounded by hundreds of people, petrified your child will scream his head off — is when you can say you traveled.”
Another mom came to the comments to give her own take on Heather’s advice about nursing to ease ear-popping, saying, “I love the idea of breastfeeding on takeoff and landing. But just FYI for other mamas — with flying commercial (I’ve done lots of it with babies) I’ve found it’s hit or miss on if you can make this work, because of the position [flight] attendants make you hold them during takeoff [and] landing for safety reasons. Some enforce it more than others. So just be prepared for this not to be an option.”
Yet some people in the comments defended Heather’s lavish airplane experience. As one supporter said, “She’s not ‘privileged’ flying private, she works her a–- off. If we had money, we’d do it too… The moms out there being rude are shaming her for her lifestyle. Her and Tarek work every day, almost, and their jobs are just as stressful. It’s unfortunate we can’t all just say ‘Aw, cute pics’ and move on.”
While that particular commenter makes a valid point, that we should let people live their lives as they see fit, it’s also valid for parents to call out the lack of relatability of her social media presence. As inflation increases and the cost of childcare skyrockets, most moms can’t see their own experience in what Heather El Moussa is posting. Some people use social media as an escape, yet others use it to see a reflection of their lives — and most moms aren’t flying on private jets with their newborn babies.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. As a former postpartum doula, she covers parenting issues, pop culture analysis, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.