Just WOW. 10 or so years ago, I quite enjoyed her content. But after following along for a while, it became clear that the self effacing, bumbling along, sweary, trying to be relatable was all very much a contrived act. I remember it dawning when I listened to her being interviewed on a couple of different podcasts on various topics a few years ago, and she would rehash the same stories/metaphors/analogies verbatim (flatulent beagle, crisp packet in the wind, parenting the shit out of it, qumquat, quagmire), but the stories would have a slightly different context or setting. Including some extremely cringeworthy tales that were blatantly made up, designed for the lols, and positing Anna as hilarious, edgy, great banter and a little bit naughty. (Glasses half way down her nose for full sexy school marm effect) The details in these different interviews didn’t quite line up, and it became clear that she was someone with a very elastic grasp on the truth, and she would shoehorn in these missives, always designed to show her in the best light possible. Most of the stories seemed ridiculous, affected and massively overplayed. Her appearance on tv purporting to have suffered PPP was also questionable to say the least. I was happy to unfollow as it didn’t sit well with me that she was using a supposed mental health crisis to shill some book.
She showed up on my FYP a few days ago, and I am baffled. The podcast seems to be an exercise in self obsession - in every clip she appears to be weeping, talking in tropes & indulging in nauseating nonsense with that Polly woman. I can see that it is attempting to be authentic and genuine, but the saccharine try-hardness of it all is repulsive. I think she is a master grifter and self promoter, and has done pretty well for herself by attaching herself to particular causes - that coincidentally allows her to be portrayed as some kind of patron saint for parents everywhere. But only the ones that look like her, of course. Her word salad tendencies are in full flow now as she blatantly tries to rewrite the narrative of her situation, and once again position herself as brave/remarkable/strong/empowered. I am confused by the so called stigmas she appears to be inventing, again, all in the name of self congratulation. No idea why she is positioning herself as an expert on blended families, after mere months in. Having said that, she appears to be a self proclaimed expert in separation, divorce, magpie-ing, co-parenting, Hinge-ing, friendship, parenting, flexible working, side-eyeing the camera, pregnancy sex, love after divorce, marriage after divorce blah blah blah. It is embarrassing. Her defensiveness in some of those recent posts say it all - the so called stigma and judgment she is describing, only comes from her own preconceptions about divorce and blended families. Divorce and blended families have been the norm for a long long time, but her narcissism means she needs to somehow make her own situation special and unique. She isn’t some trailblazing light for women everywhere - she is a walking red flag, attention seeking, terrified to be alone, and now frantically re-writing her trite ‘happy ending’, and playing it all out on social media for validation and head pats. Weird head girl vibes from it all, desperate for affirmation. Oddly, all she seems to do is complain about the dirge and drudgery of parenting, and barely seems to cope with her own kids who are very much grown now. She will milk this baby content for all it is worth. Pretty grim, all things considered. Said as someone who had my last child at 42, and has had a blended family for the past 15 years.