"Is it just me or does she not look so happy?"

This was one of the top comments on a video of Molly-Mae Hague celebrating Tommy Fury's boxing victory on Saturday.

The 27-year-old, who gave birth to her second child just 10 days prior, wore a cream dress from her fashion label, Maebe, as she watched her partner beat his opponent, retired strongman Eddie Hall.

Watch: Molly-Mae reacts to Tommy Fury winning boxing match. Post continues after video.

Amid the expected (but no less infuriating) commentary online surrounding Molly's "post-partum body," social media was flush with assumptions that the mum-of-two didn't seem "too excited" to be at the match. Some even said she wasn't smiling enough… ahh yes, that old sexist chestnut.

When, oh when, are we going to give it up with the constant, obsessive monitoring of new mothers!?

We are treating postpartum women as objects to be analysed, graded, and picked apart, completely forgetting the massive physical and emotional toll of childbirth.

Ten days after labour, the human body is still actively healing. The uterus is painfully contracting back to its normal size; you are likely exhausted, hormonal, wearing a massive maternity pad, and quite literally bleeding.

But God forbid Molly isn't smiling through every one of Tommy's jabs and uppercuts. As many supporters pointed out, for the mum to show up at all was impressive.

If it's not the "lack of smiles" being picked apart, new mums will always cop something. Like in 2021, when Emily Ratajkowski was criticised for supposedly "flaunting" her postpartum body and reinforcing unrealistic beauty standards.

It's exhausting. And it's a lose-lose situation. You're either criticised for "showing off" or for not "bouncing back" quick enough. You're either too happy or too exhausted. You're either a bad mum for going to a partner's event, or a bad partner for staying home with the kids.

Being a mother in the public eye comes with an endless stream of assumptions. Even Molly, whether intentionally or not, justified her attendance at the match on her Instagram story.

In the seemingly early hours of the morning, the 27-year-old posted a photo of her newborn in her arms, looking visibly exhausted with her eyes closed and her shoulder covered in vomit.

"Don't get it twisted!" she wrote. "I pulled myself together for a few hours to support Tommy, but this is the reality of most of my evenings currently.

"Taking deep breaths, covered in vomit, whilst being used as a human cow and trying to look after my other little sassy human too!"

Molly and Tommy, who met on Love Island UK in 2019, share two children: three-year-old daughter Bambi, and two-week-old son Midas.

On his own Instagram, Tommy, 27, thanked Molly for "holding down the fort" with their kids so he could prepare for the match.

"Now it's time for some much-needed family time," the boxer wrote.

The following morning, Molly shared a photo of Midas asleep on Tommy's chest.

"20,000 people in an arena last night… but just us four this morning," she wrote.

The parents have had a slightly tumultuous relationship since Love Island. After dating for four years, they got engaged in July 2023 before temporarily splitting in August 2024.

In the months after their breakup, Molly shared a raw update about single parenthood, and how a trip to Dubai "utterly knocked [her] confidence" as a mum.

"I can do it, I don't need support, I've got this under control," she said in a YouTube vlog, but "Dubai, different story."

"I was so out of my depth, literally the whole plane journey on the way there I was nearly in tears."

Meanwhile, in January 2025, Tommy told Men's Health UK that the breakup had been due to his "problem with alcohol."

"I couldn't be the partner that I wanted to be anymore," he said. "It kills me to say it, but I couldn't."

The boxer also denied rumours that cheating was involved in their split.

"If it's not come from my mouth or Molly's mouth, it's complete and utter bulls—t," he said.

Four months later, Molly confirmed that she and Tommy were slowly rekindling things in her Prime Video docuseries, Molly-Mae: Behind It All .

"The version of who he is right now is one of the best I've seen," Molly said of Tommy, adding that the relationship was "worth saving."

"I love Tommy so much and I love our family so much that I'm willing to ride the wave," she said. "That's not something that everyone wants to do, but it's something that I'm willing to do because I want my family."

And that right there is the crux of it.

Molly has chosen to ride the wave. She has chosen to publicly show up, 10 days postpartum, bleeding and exhausted, to sit ringside and support the partner she is rebuilding a life with.

That shouldn't need a photo covered in baby vomit to justify.

Feature Image: Instagram/@mollymae

If you or anyone you know needs to speak with an expert, please contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or download Sobriety App – I am Sober, an addiction buddy useful for quitting any activity or substance.

Molly-Mae went to her partner's boxing match 10 days postpartum. That's not the part people had a problem with.

Catie Powers