Photo: TikTok
This should be a happy story.
By Jonathan Alfano — Written on Apr 23, 2022
A woman on TikTok has received many hateful comments after posting a video about her decision to become a mother at an older age.
The now-51-year-old mother, who goes by the username @thevintageparents on TikTok, and her husband adopted her now-two-year-old daughter when she was 49. She now posts videos of her family’s experiences on her TikTok account.
She first shared the story of her adoption in a video posted on March 12. The video has amassed over 1.3 million views, 187,000 likes and nearly 4,000 comments.
However, reactions were divided with some viewers taking a rather cruel stance.
The mom was slammed for adopting a baby at 49 years old.
In the video, she gives off a distressed look with a hand over her mouth and text that reads, “Being told at 41, after my latest miscarriage, that I would never be a mom and to ‘accept my fate.’”
The video then transitions to show her happily holding her daughter alongside the text “Me at 51 with my 2-year-old.”
The video’s caption reads “However motherhood comes to you, it’s a miracle.”
Despite the inspiring nature and purpose of the video, some commenters harshly and rudely criticized her decision.
These people said that she was being unfair to the child because she is “too old” and her daughter would lose her early.
“That poor child who will sadly have a geriatric parent before she graduates,” one commenter said.
“My father died at 60,” another commenter said. “I’m 26, and have to face the rest of my life without him. That’s just unfair to the kids getting them so late.”
Thankfully, some commenters praised the woman for sharing her inspiring story.
“No amount of time is promised between any parent and child,” one commenter said. “However being the best parent you can be while on this earth is all that matters.”
“Motherhood at any age is BEAUTIFUL!” another commenter said. “Congrats mama she is beautiful!”
Some people also struck back at the hateful comments and poked holes in their claims.
“Wow reading the comments I can’t believe how wanting a child makes you a bad mother,” one commenter said. “‘Lose you early, people die every day at any age at any time.”
“Everyone is saying that she will die when the child is still young, a child is never ready for the death of a parent, regardless of age,” another commenter said.
In a follow-up video posted on April 13 thanking the people who supported her and wrote articles about her story.
The woman has explained more of her background through other videos on her page.
She met her second husband at 40 after going through a sudden divorce with her first husband in her late 30s.
“Don’t let anyone tell you, you are too old!” reads her caption on a video posted on April 12.
In yet another follow-up video posted on April 13, the woman spoke out herself about the rude comments she has received.
She compared her situation to that of older male celebrities having kids, who are praised instead of ridiculed as she has been.
“I’ve been called selfish, egotistical, told I’m gonna die,” she said. “I’m 51, I have a lot of life left. What amazes me is that I don’t see wealthy people, or to this commenter’s point, rockstars, folks in the public eye, who are a lot older than I and have a penis, get trolled about having children later in life.”
Jonathan Alfano is a writer who focuses on news and entertainment topics. He majors in journalism at the University of Central Florida with a minor in sports business. Follow him on Twitter.