I had to unfollow recently when I heard EVB complaining about a drop in followers after she posted another series of stories about a gifted stay in a Cork hotel. She initially said she was interested in ''the psychology'' of people unfollowing, but then dismissed it as jealousy, which seemed to me to be oversimplifying things in the extreme.
It showed a distinct lack of awareness about repetitive content of yet another hotel stay, and a lack of understanding that consumers (of her content/brand/whatever she is selling) have agency and can lose interest when there is so much repetition and ad nauseum statements about how amazing a particular venue is. I think EVB has a tendency to point the finger outwards because it's convenient to dismiss these things as jealousy, when actually people most likely aren't interested in constantly seeing the same old same old. In the case of Instagram, people can't vote with their feet, so they vote with the unfollow button instead.
For me, the sandwiching of stories about refugees between gifted hotel experiences seemed to be entirely crass & insensitive, and there was a sense that if there is a bandwagon, she is on it - be it plant based/ veganism/ meditation/ yoga/ humanitarian crises. It all seemed to be ringing hollow to me.
In the context of the refugee crisis, I saw she had mentioned some previous volunteering/aid work experience and was encouraging others to get involved but I also remember reading in a post some time back about a 2 week long stint volunteering at an orphanage as a school girl. Not to say that experience wouldn't have been formative, but showcasing it as aid work experience in light of the more recent humanitarian crises in Greece seemed distinctly disingenuous.
I think that Eimear seems petulant when anyone questions something or takes issue with something she has said - despite the constant messaging from her about say what you feel, speak your truth, acknowledge things you don't appreciate, call things out etc; again there is a distinct lack of any robust conversation and everything is immediately categorised as jealousy or trolling. Cancel culture. For whatever reason, it seems that for so many in her field, if you are not fawning or propping up, then you are a troll.
The only person I have ever seen engage with their audience in this regard in a really authentic and transparent way is Mother Pukka. She does it beautifully, and has established an amazing platform and cause - she is also focussed on some very key issues, as opposed to lurching around from one thing to another desperately seeking relevance.
From a consumer point of view, it's interesting to me that brands continue to want to work with EVB as I find her erratic and often inarticulate/doesn't interview well. It's fascinating what brands assume consumers want to hear, and who they want to hear it from. I have no doubt that she will continue in this space, and will likely continue to do well from it, but I am glad to not engage anymore.