Here’s the reality. Christina Anstead responded to fans who have called her an “absent mother” amid quarantine and her shocking split from estranged husband Ant Anstead.
“This year has been incredibly isolating. Activities like church, travel, dinner, movies, sports — canceled. No longer seeing my friends smiling faces on set (all covered by masks). It all feels like s—t,” the 37-year-old wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, November 4, alongside a selfie. “So many changes for so many people. So despite what you see on Instagram, most people are struggling.”
“When I get told, ‘You must be an absent mother because you are not with your kids,’ — SMH, wake up, people. I hardly post anymore,” Christina continued. “And I def do not want to post my kids every freaking day to make it a contest of who [is] a better parent. F that. This doesn’t mean I’m not with my kids — it means the opposite. I am with them. I’m present.”
Finally, the mother of three encouraged social media users on her page to consider what someone might be going through offline. “So stop parent shaming, people, stop choosing sides when there is no side to choose. My point being, when you see stuff on here, take it all with a grain of salt,” she concluded. “There is a whole lot of filters and fake smiles. I’ve been guilty of faking it, too. We are all struggling — some of us are just better at ‘masking’ it.”
The Flip or Flop star revealed the “difficult decision to separate” from her husband of nearly two years, 41, in mid-September. “We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our top priority,” the Christina on the Coast star wrote on Instagram at the time.
Life & Style confirmed the reality star filed for divorce from her estranged husband in Orange County court on Tuesday, November 3. The former couple got married in December 2018 after more than a year of dating. They welcomed their first child, son Hudson, in September 2019. Christina is also mother to 9-year-old daughter Taylor and 5-year-old son Brayden from her previous marriage to ex and costar Tarek El Moussa.