missing my babies today ❤ pic.twitter.com/MmzBtVn648

— Amanda Stanton (@amandastantonnn) March 29, 2017

Amanda Stanton is a single mom to two girls and a former Bachelor contestant. She also appeared in season three of Bachelor in Paradise and was filming the current season four before the show was suspended due to accusations of sexual misconduct (with which Amanda is in no way involved). Amanda also has a blog, which I assume is on the newish side as it has a “tutorials” tab but no tutorials yet. Although my fashion tastes are very different from hers, it’s a nice looking blog – very clean and well laid out. Her “Mini Fashion” tab is adorable. All of that is to say I really have no idea who she is. But she has photos of herself and her two daughters, Kinsley and Charlie with ex-husband Nick Buonfiglio, all over both her blog and her Instagram. So I don’t doubt she adores her girls. That did not stop people from disputing that fact because Amanda dared to post photos of her enjoying time away from her daughters and for continuing to appear on BiP. Eventually, Amanda had had enough and posted her response to all those who shamed her Instagram story. (She posted this before the sexual assault on the set of BiP was in the news.)

Back off! Amanda Stanton addressed mom shamers on Instagram on Sunday, June 11, after people on social media commented about her parenting.

“I don’t normally like to address the trolls / mom shamers … but it’s so out of control!” Stanton — who is mom of daughters Kinsley, 4, and Charlie, 3 — shared via her Instagram story. “I’d like to take a moment to clarify first of all that my kids DO have a father that is part of their life. They spend time with him too. So if you see a photo of me without my kids one weekend and comment something like ‘mother of the year’ or ‘wow shouldn’t she be with her kids?’ Well, there’s a VERY good chance that I can’t be with them because they’re with their dad.”

Stanton, who competed on season 20 of The Bachelor, went on to defend herself for opting to go on season 4 of Bachelor in Paradise. 
“As far as Bachelor in Paradise goes, it doesn’t film for very long at ALL,” she wrote. “I know it airs for 2 months … but it actually takes a lot less than that to film it.” 

“I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home and spend more time with my kids than most parents,” she continued, explaining that when she is filming, her kids stay with their dad or grandparents. “I understand that most parents don’t go on reality TV shows … but everyone’s lives are different. … My kids are my entire world. I am doing my best to give them a great life.”

[From US]

I read about how she handled her breakup with Josh Murray from BiP season three and was unimpressed but maybe he deserved it, I don’t know. But based on this post, I’m going to defend her comments. First, I like that she supported her ex and his involvement with his daughters. Let’s be honest, there are those who would have used the excuse that they have to do everything and therefore deserve the well-earned break but she doesn’t, she said Nick is involved in their lives. Second, I imagine taking that much criticism on how you parent would move anyone to their breaking point. I can promise you that there is plenty of photographic evidence of me being away from my children and they are just as happy about that as I am. I get that people judge others parenting. I used to do it too and I was a real jerk about it. But what’s that phrase, “I was the perfect parent until I had kids”? Yeah, that. So, I can’t feel anything but sympathy for these celebrity moms out there who get a barrage of crap from complainers who are viewing only a very small window of the situation.

I can’t really comment on the BiP filming. I guess I believe her that filming doesn’t take her away from her daughters for too long. And again, if the girls are with their dad, I don’t have a problem with Amanda trying to make some dosh while she can. But she can’t really be too surprised that two seasons of her pursuing a hookup in Mexico raised a few eyebrows. I might go so far as to wonder if that wasn’t the point?

Photo credit: Twitter, Getty Images and WENN Photos