Tanya and Phil Bardsley came out on Wednesday evening after criticism of their parenting.
The couple, who have been married since 2014, dodged their woes as they attended the launch of the French Connection store at The Arndale in Manchester.
Accompanied by their eldest son Rocco, Tanya beamed as she dressed glamorously in a trench coat and sleek black ensemble, while Phil looked handsome in a bomber jacket.
Other stars in attendance included Adam Thomas and his wife Caroline, Danny Simpson and Hanni Treweek.
Earlier this week the couple were criticized when ex-Manchester United player Phil pretended to wash his son's mouth with shampoo because he was swearing.
Ouch: Tanya and Phil Bardsley came out on Wednesday night after protests against their parenting
Family: Together with their eldest son Rocco, Tanya beamed as she looked glamorous in a trench coat and sleek black ensemble, while Phil looked handsome in a bomber jacket
Shock: Earlier this week the couple suffered a blow when ex-Manchester United player Phil was spotted pretending to wash his son's mouth with shampoo because he was swearing
The 38-year-old, who is currently assistant manager at Macclesfield, was filmed by his The Real Housewives of Cheshire star wife Tanya as he playfully pinned his youngest son Ralphi to the bathroom floor.
Tanya, 42, asked their son 'are you getting soap in your mouth', to which Phil replied: 'Yes. Pantene, that's enough.'
The retired defender then jokingly tries to pull the towel away and stuff soap in his mouth, as Tanya adds: 'You won't swear again will you.'
After showing the clip to her 573,000 followers on Instagram, the couple received criticism from people, with one person claiming it was 'disturbing'.
A comment below the post read: 'Am I the only one who finds a grown man holding a child down on a hard floor and pouring chemicals into his mouth disturbing and insulting no matter how much he swears!!!'
Another said: 'It's not funny to post a video making jokes about child abuse because people who actually do that are abusive.'
However, many parents found no problem with the video, with one saying: 'It's family talk, you can see it's not malicious… Old ways haven't hurt us.'
Another also joked: 'The amount of soap I had as a child and am still alive today.'
Happy Days: Other stars in attendance included Adam Thomas and his wife Caroline, Danny Simpson and Hanni Treweek
Sleek: Adam and Caroline looked glamorous for the event
A third added: 'You can clearly see the child is not in distress or injured. Jesus, the child, is giggling…let's face it, we all argue with our children.'
Tanya originally posted the video with the following caption: “We're going back to the old fashioned treatment because nothing else has worked for our little potty mouthed Ralphi doodle.
“He told his brother to fuck off. No children were harmed in the making of this video. For the wrapped Karen's in the comments, no shampoo was put in his mouth and Ralphi just laughed.
'FFS. Honestly, the world is so serious these days and thrives on being insulted and judged.”
Bardsley made eight appearances for United and also played for Sunderland, Burnley and Stoke.
Chic: Hanni Treweek was dressed up for the chic event
The former Sunderland defender and his wife Tanya have come in for a lot of criticism