Christina Anstead Defends Herself Against Claims She's An 'Absent Mother'

‘Stop choosing sides when there is no side to choose,’ she wrote on Instagram

Mom-of-three Christina Anstead shared a very personal post on Instagram about the need to find her footing as a woman and mother during what she calls an “incredibly isolating” year.

It seems the Flip or Flop star was talking about the isolation because of both the coronavirus pandemic and her separation from husband Ant Anstead, who she officially filed divorce paperwork from this week, according to Fox News. Christina posted a selfie wearing a sweatshirt and jeans alongside a raw, emotional caption.

“This year has been incredibly isolating,” she wrote. “Activities like church, travel, dinner, movies, sports- canceled. No longer seeing my friends smiling faces on set (all covered by masks) it all feels like shit. So many changes for so many people. So despite what you see on Instagram most people are struggling.”

Christina shares daughter Taylor, 10, and son Brayden, 5, with ex-husband and Flip or Flop co-host Tarek El Moussa. She and Ant share 1-year-old son Hudson.

“When I get told ‘you must be an absent mother because you are not with your kids’ – smh wake up people,” she wrote. “I hardly post anymore … and I def do not want to post my kids every freaking day to make it a contest of who’s a better parent f that. This doesn’t mean I’m not with my kids – it means the opposite – I am with them- I’m present.”

It’s refreshing to see a celebrity not posting every five minutes about their personal lives. Of course, it’s always fun to get a sneak peak into the lives of the famous, but it should never be used as a platform to “prove” anything — especially how much time you spend with your kids. Being divorced and not seeing your kids full-time is hard enough; no one needs to be judged on top of it.

Earlier this year, Christina also opened up about being divorced and feeling judged.

“I never thought I would have one divorce let alone two,” Christina wrote. “I never thought I would have 2 baby daddies – but sometimes life throws us curve balls. Instead of getting stuck in these ‘setbacks’ I choose to look at these challenges as opportunities to grow. So while some may judge me and throw around rumors about me, most of you support me. And that says a lot about this world and where we are headed.”

Christina continued, asking people to remember she and every other person on social media is just that, a person.

“Stop parent shaming people, stop choosing sides when there is no side to choose,” she said. “My point being – when you see stuff on here take it all with a grain of salt. There is a whole lot of Filters and fake smiles. I’ve been guilty of faking it too. We are all struggling – some of us are just better at ‘masking’ it.”