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The Sun
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
My baby ruined my career – trolls call me ‘bad mum' & say I should've ‘kept my legs closed' but I'm a proud single mum
A MUM who admits having a baby "ruined her career" says trolls have dubbed her a 'bad mum' and accused her of hating her son. High-flyer Derricka Hill, 31, unexpectedly fell pregnant with her little boy, Derriawn, one, in October 2023. 3 3 Despite being career-focused in her role as a marketing recruiter - which saw her work 50-hour weeks - Derricka was excited to experience motherhood. Derriawn was born via caesarean on June 28, 2024, weighing 9 lb. But, since returning to work, Derriawn has had a constant three-month chronic ear infection and has contracted salmonella. This left single mum Derricka having to use her annual leave and take unpaid days off to care for him. Some weeks, she is only able to work 25 hours a week in order to look after Derriawn and she says the reduced hours have "ruined her career" because time off means she's "not a valuable employee". But she insists she "wouldn't be without him". Derricka, who has full custody of her little boy, from Seattle, Washington State, said: "I ruined my career by having a son. "When I have time off, I don't bring money into the business. I'm not as valuable as an employee in a business sense. "I wanted to experience the trials and tribulations of motherhood. "People online call me a 'bad mother' or say that I hate my son. I don't, he is my whole world, but being a single mum working full time in corporate America is tough. "Plus, dealing with a child who is sick is an added layer. "I'd never be without him but my career has suffered enormously. I don't have the luxury of giving up work because it's just me and Derriawn. "Everything I do is for him." Before becoming a mum, Derricka said she "worked hard and played harder". Working as a certified nursing assistant for seven years, she then got into marketing recruitment - a job which saw her work up to 50 hours a week. "I lived for my job, I wanted to be successful in my career," Derricka said. "I worked hard but played harder. "I only had myself to take care of and I could do whatever I wanted." Life changed when Derricka unexpectedly fell pregnant in October 2023 and she "decided to go it alone". After an "emotionally intense" pregnancy, on June 28, 2024, she welcomed her son, Derriawn David D'Angelo, two weeks past his due date. Taking her three-month paid maternity leave, in September 2024, Derricka returned to work. Despite having help from her grandma and mum, Dawn Bellmy, 50, who works in healthcare, on the weekends, in March 2025 Derricka began to struggle with the demands of her work and home life. She said: "My grandma wasn't able to have Derriawn as he got too heavy for her to lift on her own, and my mum works full-time during the week. "In March, Derriawn started contracting chronic ear infections one after the other. "He'd cry relentlessly throughout the night because he was in so much pain, which meant I got little to no sleep and struggled to function at work the next day. "It was heartbreaking to see as his mum. "In May, he contracted salmonella too. "Taking him back and forth to doctors and caring for him meant unpaid time off work. "He hasn't gotten better, and doctors aren't able to recommend further than the antibiotics that he's taking. "Corporate America is a beast, but I'm always going to put my son first. "Having him was my beautiful accident. "That's why being a mum ruined my career, but I don't regret it for a second." Posting an honest rant on TikTok on June 20, it has amassed more than 600,000 views. Derricka said: "I didn't expect so many people to watch me in that video, I just wanted to voice how frustrated I was feeling with it all. "Some people have commented, 'should have kept your legs closed' and 'where's the dad?'. "I just try and laugh it off. "I'm a single mum and I'm proud of it. "But other people have reached out with messages of support or said they can relate. "That's the point, motherhood is unpredictable. You don't know what it will chuck at you. "My son is my whole world; everything I do is for him. "I think I'm one and done, I couldn't handle another kid at the moment - I don't think my career would survive it either." Meanwhile, it seems Derricka isn't the only mum struggling. A mum has shared a brutally honest post about how she regrets having a baby and wishes she never had, as parenthood has turned her into a "shell of her former self". Elsewhere, one mum revealed she 'contracted a cold when pregnant and didn't even know' she had it, leaving her baby girl brain damaged for life'. Plus, another mum was left fuming after stranger leaves most passive aggressive note ever on her car BANNING her from using parent parking spot. 3
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
My husband and I stuck to traditional vows on our wedding day. 3 years later, I still regret that decision.
My husband and I opted for a small, intimate wedding in 2022. I had always wanted to write my own vows, but family advised against it and I didn't push the issue. Three years later, I still wish I had stood up for what I wanted. My husband and I said our "I dos" during the pandemic. For us, it was a great excuse to keep the event on the smaller side, though our families wanted us to invite every extended family member. We would have wanted our wedding to be intimate, regardless of the safety concerns at the time. My husband proposed in July 2021, and we were married six months later. As the planning process progressed, I found that we were making more and more concessions — mostly to our families — instead of sticking to what we wanted for our big day. Looking back, I wish I had stuck to my guns on some of them. I didn't have a strict blueprint for my wedding. I had a handful of things I wanted, such as my son walking me down the aisle since I was a single mom when I met my husband. But most of all I wanted the wedding to be as much my husband's as it was mine. Basically, I wanted everything to be agreed upon by both of us. It seemed the more relaxed we were about the wedding, the more our respective parents worried about some other aspect we hadn't even thought of. But it wasn't just our family. Nearly everyone that learned we were getting married asked if we had done this or that "yet." We just wanted to have a simple party with our closest friends and family, but everyone we talked to pointed something else out that we had been blissfully unaware of. I had always wanted to write my own vows, but as the wedding loomed closer, my husband seemed stressed out about writing his. His father, who was a minister and was going to be the one to marry us, wanted us to stick to the usual script. I was tired of battling everyone's expectations and wanted to ease my soon-to-be husband's stress, so I gave in and simply said, "fine." My husband seemed relieved, and at the end of the day, I thought what really mattered was that we would be married. Looking back, I can see how stressed out I was during the planning process all the way through our wedding, which was far more stressful than I had thought it would be. I know now that my judgement was clouded. There were a lot of things I didn't love about how our wedding played out, but my biggest regret is not committing to writing our own vows. I've even asked my husband if he'd consider remarrying just to recite vows that we've each written, but the moment has come and gone. Part of why my husband was having trouble with his vows was because they would be said in front of everyone we knew, not just the two of us. But if I could go back in time, I would have talked it out with him. Mostly, I know my husband would have stuck to our vows if I had let him know how important it was to me. Compromising is an important part of a relationship, but for our marriage to be successful, I think it's important that neither of us are making too many concessions, especially when it's something that really matters. I worried so much about everyone else, including my husband, that I let go of one of the few things that mattered to me. I think worrying more about everyone else, in different ways, was a mistake we both made. The upside is that we can learn from worrying overly about everyone else but ourselves and work at taking care of each other within our marriage. I catch myself thinking about what I would have said at the altar so much that it's become a fantasy. It's usually when I realize how much I love him or how lucky I feel to be with him. While I can't go back in time, I can write and share my fantasy vows with my husband for the rest of our lives. When I think of it that way, it's a lot more romantic than just telling him once on our big day. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charlize Theron's Sweetest Quotes About Being a Mom to Daughters Jackson and August
Charlize Theron loves her kids more than anything. The actress adopted her daughters, Jackson and August, in 2012 and 2015, respectively, and has been gushing over her role as a mom ever since. "I do know that choosing to be a mom in my late 30s has been really great for me,' Theron told W Magazine in April 2015. 'It's given me perspective.' That same year, Theron explained during an interview with British Vogue that she 'always' wanted to have children, especially having a 'fair, tough and supportive' role model in her own mother, Gerda Maritz. Charlize Theron Shares Glimpses of Daughters in 'Spring Break Mode' at Disney World "Our family is everything,' Theron said. 'Her greatest skill was encouraging me to find my own person and own independence." While appearing on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast in July 2025, Theron explained her decision to raise her kids alone. 'I think I'm raising my kids as a single mom because of, definitely, avoidance of things that I know I don't want and also understanding who I am fully and being honest with who I am and what I can give right now,' she said. 'Who I am, at the time that I wanted to be a parent, was not somebody who should be having kids with another person.' Keep scrolling to read Theron's sweetest quotes about her kids: Theron said that she "can't remember anything" from her life prior to becoming a mom. "I feel like it was always just meant to be what it is," she told E! News. "I knew that I would have to have my mom help me if I was going to do this as a single parent,' Theron told Elle. 'To not acknowledge [Martiz], in coparenting my children would be a lie. ... I would feel pretty alone if I didn't have a partner in crime in all of this.' Theron told Us Weekly exclusively about protecting her kids from mom shamers. "I just love my kids, I try to keep them as safe as possible,' she said. 'I try to support them as much as possible. I try to do what I think every other parent wants for their children, just [give them] a fair shot.' Theron recalled the day that she taught her daughter an important lesson during an appearance on the 'In Charge With DVF' podcast. "Two days ago I was in the car with my two girls, and my little one said something like, 'You need a boyfriend!'" the actress said. 'And I said, 'Actually, I don't. Right now, I feel really good,' and she's like, 'You know what, Mom? You just need a boyfriend. You need a relationship!'' Theron told her daughter that she was in a relationship with herself, which offered a major perspective shift. "She had this look in her eye like she had never really contemplated that that was even a possibility,' Theron continued. 'Her mind was blown, but I know that was the day that she realized there's a different possibility.' While Theron's daughters are becoming more 'independent,' Theron told Entertainment Tonight that her 'saving grace' was them joining her in bed for back scratches. 'So I still feel like I have the power," she explained. "But it is definitely happening. It's inevitable, right? They want to find themselves and be individuals." Charlize Theron Sits Front Row at Dior Pre-Fall Show With 7-Year-Old Daughter August "When my kids say, 'Mom, nobody makes pasta better than you,' nothing gets close to that," Theron told Harper's Bazaar, explaining that her career took somewhat of a backseat to her family. "I don't ever need them to be like, 'Oh, you're in that movie.'" She continued: "I am still carrying such a grudge that there's a mom in our circle who makes French toast that my kid raves about. And she's given me the recipe and I've tried it. ... I am way more driven by that stuff." Theron said that her 'job' as a mother is to teach her kids acceptance. 'I want [my kids] to grow up in a world where they know what it means to accept what's not you, what is different and love that, to not be scared of that, and to embrace it,' she said on Drag Race's 'Untucked' aftershow. 'I feel like we're living in a day and age where our words can so easily be weaponized against us.' The actress told that her kids are 'so embarrassed' by her. 'It's a lot of girl in our house. I'm just trying to keep my head above water, because they are smart and they are witty and they are firecrackers, but they do not go, 'Oh my god, Mom, you're so amazing.' They're like, 'Excuse me, I need. I want,'' she said. 'They're a**holes, but they're really nice. Other parents know what I'm talking about.' 'I swear in front of my kids because I feel like I am a responsible mom, but I also I am who I am,' Theron said during her 'Call Her Daddy' podcast appearance. 'I'm not ashamed of who I am. I also want to teach my kids that there are things for them to look forward to. They don't necessarily get to say that right now, but that's really fun because they're going to grow up and get to say what they want.'
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'You'd Better Be Really Quick!' 6-Year-Old's Sweet Doorbell Camera Message to Mom Goes Viral (Exclusive)
Kelly Kubala and son Jack sometimes exchange quick messages through their home's doorbell camera Speaking on the two-way talk feature one day, the little boy shared a heartwarming message for mom Kelly tells PEOPLE about getting to share those moments and having the chance to save video and relive themA single mom checking in on her son during a busy workday captured a sweet exchange. Kelly Kuabala and her son, Jack, live in Utah. Their doorbell camera provides "a sense of security" for the single mom, who makes the most of all her moments at home with her son. "An average day for Jack and I consists of waking up, and enjoying my coffee while he enjoys his breakfast. We get dressed and ready for our day, if I'm working. We play a board game or a video game together, and then jet off to school and work," Kelly tells PEOPLE. "If we are off, we wake up in the morning, and over breakfast, we figure out what fun things we can do together that day. It usually consists of going to the pool, going on a short hike, playing baseball or going to Jack's karate classes together. We'll finish off the day with a bath and cook dinner together." The proud mom adds, "He is a very spontaneous and fun-loving little boy. He usually decides our days, and I plan them out for him!" Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Kelly does spend some time away from home at work, with family members helping to keep an eye on Jack. The little boy was home on one such day, spending time with his grandma, when Kelly said "Hi" through the two-way talk feature on their Ring camera. "This was not the first time. Occasionally, when I get a notification from my Ring app, I will chat with Jack through the camera if I am not too crazy busy at work," she shares. The video shows Jack telling mom, "You better be really quick because I really miss you." "This was the first time he has said something as sweet as he did on this video I saved," she shares. "It was too cute not to save." Being able to not only share moments like these with her son while she's away, but also be able to save them to relive "means the world" to Kelly. "Being a single mom and the only active parent in his life, I cherish my time with him just as much. I carry a lot of guilt for working such a demanding career, so to know that he doesn't seem to resent me and wants to spend time with me too makes me feel loved," she admits, adding, "Just as I want him to feel loved, and cherished." Jack's grandma was busy in that moment, letting the family dog out. When she saw the video of her grandson, she thought it was "precious." "She said it just melted her heart because she says Jack talks about how much he loves me when I am around, so to hear him saying this made her melt," she adds. Read the original article on People
News24
21-06-2025
- General
- News24
Joburg date murder: Olorato's grieving mom tells of her heartbreak
Single mom Keabetswe Mongale mourns her only child Olorato. Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once. Start your FREE trial now Show Comments ()
