Married At First Sight's Ella Ding breaks silence after backlash over her sponsored pregnancy post
The reality TV star, who is expecting her first child with husband Guy Palermo, shared her exciting baby news in a post that advertised her partnership with Clearblue, a pregnancy test company.
The post, while receiving many congratulations from friends and family, faced major criticism, with some followers calling it 'tacky' and 'cringe' to announce her pregnancy with a sponsored post.
Now, the 31-year-old has opened up about the business opportunity, telling Yahoo Lifestyle that it was a 'no-brainer'.
'Clearblue literally told me I'm pregnant. Like, I don't really know how much more you can align with a brand,' she said.
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The MAFS alum revealed that she initially felt weird when the opportunity came across her desk, however the more she thought about it, the more the partnership made sense to her.
'If it makes sense to me and my people understand, that's all that matters. And if you got offered, you would take it!' she said.
Ella also noted that the cost of living crisis was a reasonable excuse for saying yes to the brand partnership, adding that having a baby is 'f***ing expensive'.
The soon-to-be-mum said that she and Guy would set up a bank account for their baby, hinting that the money from her pregnancy partnership and any other baby-related opportunities would go towards her unborn child.
'It's something that I wish my parents did for me from when I was a young age, and something that I really want to do for our baby to start helping them save from a really young age,' she said.
Last week, fans weighed in on Ella's controversial 'pregnancy announcement ad', which featured a series of photos including a positive Clearblue pregnancy test.
'Somewhere between healing and hustling, the next chapter quietly chose us,' Ella captioned her post.
'Baby Palermo you've already made our story sweeter & given us the best news of 2025 yet.'
Ella also included the information '#ad #ClearblueConfirmed,' and consumer advice, 'Always read the label and follow the directions for use.'
The announcement was re-posted by the @influencer.updates.au Instagram page.
The post was met with mixed feelings from followers of the controversial bride who has built a high profile on social media since appearing in MAFS 2022.
'Nooo this feels off being an ad. Is this the official announcement? Congratulations either way,' wrote one follower.
'Congrats! However does anyone else feel we are living in a capitalist nightmare with a pregnancy announcement being an ad?' suggested another fan.
One angry follower responded: 'Stop normalising this behaviour, not EVERYONE does this.
'It screams "attention" and is absolutely disgusting to use your child as a walking advertisement before they are even born. Show some class.'
'Talk about exploiting a child … starts from the moment of conception ,' agreed another user.
Added one follower: 'A paid ad to announce your first pregnancy? The last thing that should be on the mind is how can I make money out of announcing I'm pregnant.
'Each to their own but feels a bit off.'
Several celebrities, meanwhile, offered their congratulations, including MAFS coach Mel Schilling, Tammy Hembrow and social media star Sarah Jane Roza.
It comes after Domenica Calarco called out former best friend Ella for announcing her pregnancy with a sponsored post.
Domenica took to the comments section to slam Ella for 'monetising on her pregnancy'.
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