Gemma Atkinson shopping: Mum-of-two is latest celebrity to hit back at the trolls who attempt to mum-shame

Actress Gemma Atkinson has become the latest celebrity who felt the need to defend herself from cruel internet trolls who attempted to mum-shame her.

The star, who gave birth to her son Thiago in July, has taken to her Instagram stories to hit back at people who branded her “lazy” after photos emerged of her mum pushing the new baby in the pram.

Hollyoaks actress Atkinson, aged 38, and her professional dancer partner Gorka Marquez, age 32, now have two children together. They are just one of a number of couples who met while appearing on a reality show not focused on love. They met while they were each performing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, although they were not paired together. It is thought that they began their relationship a year later and then went on to welcome their daughter Mia in July 2019 and announced their engagement in 2021.

She was photographed taking Thiago out in his pram alongside her mum Sandra on Tuesday (8 August), in what was her first public appearance since welcoming the newborn. Then, on Thursday (10 August), Atkinson took to her official Instagram account to share her frustration at the reaction to the story with her 1.9 million followers.

 ‘There's always mum-shamers all the time’

In the video, Atkinson said she was aware that she had been photographed by paparazzi, and this wasn’t something she had an issue with as she knew the person who photographed her was just doing their job. She said what she did have an issue with, however, was the trolls who commented on the photo and branded her “fat” and “lazy”.

She said: “I get a lot of DMs (direct messages), some are lovely, some of them aren't. I've already had one today saying Thiago shouldn't be in the sun. I've had another saying how lazy I was letting my mum push the pram. I got another saying ''you used to be fit and you're still fat''.

Atkinson gave birth to baby Thiago in mid-July via caesarean section, and Atkinson explained that she asked her mum to push the pram as her body recovered from this major surgery. She said: "My mum was pushing the pram, because it's quite hilly where I live, so downhill I could push him. Uphill, it was a little bit tender and I don't want to overdo it.”

The NHS website states that mums who have delivered by c-section should “try to stay mobile and do gentle activities” but “be careful not to overexert yourself”. Another NHS advice page advises that mums will “need to take things easy at first” and “may need to avoid some activities, such as driving, until you have had your postnatal check-up with the doctor at six weeks.”

Atkinson added that she and her mum had ultimately laughed off the comments and was pleased to have the support of her family who turned something “annoying” into something “fun”. She said: "If I had been on my own reading those messages - 'you used to be fit, you're proper lazy' - I would have been like, oh my god. Especially with a three-week-old baby, your hormones are up and down anyway.”

She also shared some advice for anybody watching who knew a new parent. She said: "If you know anyone who's just had a baby, check in with them. Just check they're okay, because there's always mum-shamers all the time.”

Atkinson went on to say that she was used to seeing negative comments about herself online, but she worries about the future for her four-year-old daughter. She typed alongside the post: "Since being a mum I always imagine people saying the things they say to me, to Mia and it's awful to think that she could one day be made to feel s**ty by a stranger."

The battle against mum-shamers

Atkinson is not the only new mum who has been on the receiving end of cruel trolling in relation to her choices around her family.

Earlier this month, media personality Amanda Holden, age 52, hit back at comments made by controversial influencer Andrew Tate, 36. In response to an image Holden posted of herself in a bikini, Tate said that as she is a wife and a mother and “far past a teenager” she shouldn’t take such an image. Although Holden did not respond directly, she took to her Instagram account days later and uploaded a photo of her in lingerie.

Actress Megan Fox also took a satirical approach when a social media user tried to criticise her in October last year. She posted a photo of herself on her Instagram account without her three children and was asked “where your kids at?” by one of the commenters. In a sarcastic reply, she said: “"Wait wait wait. I…have kids?!? Oh my god I knew I forgot something!! Quick, someone call the valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel. That's the last place I remember seeing them. Maybe someone turned them into lost and found." Mother-of-three Helen Flanagan has also just been mum-shamed over the school shoes she has given to her two daughters.

It’s not just famous faces who have been trolled either. Last month, a mum called Aimee took to TikTok to call out the ‘haters’ who wrote ‘disgusting comments' about her after one of her videos was written about in The Sun.

All of these mums have been supported and defended by other people online, including one who branded the cruel commenters “disturbed souls” and many who said they must be jealous.