After months of relentless judgment being passed on her parenting skills, The Bachelor’s Alex Nation has confronted the haters, asking, “What has happened to the act of encouragement and finding happiness in seeing happiness in others?”
The 25-year-old model and reality television star raised the question on Monday, posting a black-and-white image of herself with her only child, 6-year-old son, Elijah.
“‘Good night Mumma, you’re the best mum ever’… This is what Elijah says to me almost every night before he goes to sleep,” Nation’s post began. “Being a parent is tough. Sometimes it’s pure exhaustion and sometimes it’s pure elation. I’m not sure that there is an in-between, I’m personally yet to find it.”
“As mothers/parents, we can often be too hard on ourselves. We put this unrealistic expectation of ourselves to be the ‘perfect parent’. Truthfully, there is no such thing. We are human, we make mistakes. But mistakes should be embraced because that is how we grow. We learn from our mistakes and keep on keepin’ on.”
Nation, who had Elijah when she was just 18, appeared on and won the 2016 series of The Bachelor and faced criticism almost instantly. For many, the idea of a single mother leaving their child to find love on national television was for some reason, too much to reconcile.
For Richie Strahan though, who eventually “chose” Nation as his girlfriend, it clearly wasn’t an issue and the couple have been happily dating since.
