An Australian entrepreneur has told how her choice to be childfree led to a ‘confrontational’ encounter with a stranger.
Karina Irby took to social media this week to recall how a seemingly innocent question about her wedding ring, asked by a woman she met in public, quickly took an awkward turn.
“She says, ‘Oh, I see you’re married… How old are you?’ ” the 34-year-old said of the encounter.
“I tell her my age and she says, ‘Oh, you’re doing well.’ So you have to have kids?”
“I just go to her, ‘No, no kids.’ Actually, my husband and I don’t have any children,” she continued.
Karina Irby, 34, took to social media on Monday to share a ‘confrontational’ interaction she had with a stranger
“I swear to God, I saw the blood draining from her face,” the swimwear designer said.
Irby added the woman, who had “drank her wine,” leaned in and asked what she planned to do with her life.
She listed her priorities as: “Building my business, saving money, spending money on me, vacation and travel, sleep and relaxation, more time with my husband and absolute freedom.”
After tying the knot with husband Ryan in October 2022, the couple mutually decided to keep their marriage child-free.
The random woman asked Irby if she would be disappointed by her choices later in life.
“Who’s going to take care of you when you’re older?” she remembered the woman’s question.
‘I would never choose to have children just so I can be taken care of when I’m older. Also, having children does not guarantee that you will be taken care of (FYI).”
“Anyway, I found it all quite confronting,” Irby added.
‘This happens to me so often that you would think I would be used to it by now. I upset a stranger because I don’t want children.’
The video has since been viewed more than 23,000 times, with many mothers using the comments to share their own stories.
‘You make the best choice. And I’m a mother,” someone laughed.
Another wrote: ‘I’m a mother of two and I love my children but I support this 100 percent. It is your choice.’
The video has since been viewed more than 23,000 times, with many mothers applauding Irby for supporting her decision to be childfree
“I’m sometimes jealous of people who don’t have kids, but mine are cute when they sleep.”
‘I love this! As a mother of six, this is amazing! “I don’t think we should force women to have children if they don’t want to and those children suffer from an unhappy mother,” said a third.
Many childless women shared Irby’s frustrations, having been in similar situations.
“Oh my god, I get this all the time. I’m turning 35 this year. It’s something people say to me all the time,” one person wrote.
Another added: ‘My husband and I don’t want kids either and the amount of weird looks and the exact same questions we get is insane.’
“It’s so tiring to explain to people that you don’t have children,” one woman said.
‘We have a full and happy life, even though we don’t have children. Just be your amazing self.”