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Becoming a mum for the first time is hard enough without an audience weighing in, let alone having to answer to hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. For Bachelor alum Holly Kingston, 32, her first year with son Lennox has been, as she tells WHO, “the best year of my life, but it’s also been really damn challenging”, and it’s left her saying, “I am more confident than I’ve ever been.”
Here, Holly – who is currently fronting Best&Less‘ So.Much.Better campaign aiming to show the more unfiltered side to family life – tells WHO about the reality of motherhood in the spotlight alongside husband Jimmy Nicholson.
WHO: Your little boy just turned 1 in December – has the time gone quickly or is it like he’s been around forever?
Holly: It’s a bit of both. When you have a kid, it’s like having a physical clock right in front of you – a constant reminder of how quickly time goes. They change so much every single day. But it also feels like it’s been the longest year of my life.
WHO: Why is it important to you to show motherhood as both fun and hard – not just doom and gloom?
Holly: On social media, it’s really hard to show your life as it actually is. I try my very best to show both the highs and the lows, but I’m conscious that if you show the lows too much, you can come across as if you’re complaining when other people ‘have it worse’. And if you show the highs too much, you’re giving an unrealistic view of what motherhood is.
WHO: What has it been like going through this huge transition as a public figure?
Holly: I’m so grateful for the life that we have because of social media and because of The Bachelor. It’s given us opportunities and a lifestyle that I’ll never take for granted, and I don’t want to complain about that side of it. But I do think that when you become a parent, not just a mum, you’re always going to get unsolicited advice. Everyone has an opinion. There is definitely an added layer when you live your life publicly online.
Particularly at the start, I’d get messages like, “You’re not holding him right,” or questions about whether he should really be doing this or that. You really have to develop a thick skin and be very confident in your choices and in how you are as a mum, because if you’re not, those little comments will eat away at you.
WHO: You and Jimmy lean into humour on social media to show all sides of parenthood – how important is that to you?
Holly: The best advice we got when I was pregnant was actually from an influencer, Amy Gerard. I was at an event with her and she said, “Guys, the first few months are going to be bonkers. If you can figure out a way to laugh at the situation, you’ll get through it.” We’ve really taken that on over the last year.
And it doesn’t stop after the newborn phase – even now, when we don’t agree on a parenting thing or Lenny is having a massive tantrum, we try to look at each other and laugh. That’s been a massive saviour for our marriage – just finding the humour in the chaos.
Find out more about Best&Less’ So.Much.Better campaign here.
Some findings from the campaign:
- Australians are feeling increasing pressure to look like life is “together” and for many families, that pressure is stealing joy from the moments that matter most.
- More than one in two Australians admit that worrying how something may appear on social media has got in the way of actually enjoying a special moment.
- Just 30% believe their social feeds accurately reflect real life.
- Pressure comes from both keeping up with people on social media (48%) and in real life (54%), with parents of younger children feeling it most often.
- Parents with kids 12 years old and younger are more likely (+12% points more) to judge other parents more than non-parents for letting kids look untidy or for wearing dirty clothes, having an untidy house or being late or disorganised.
