Apologies for length, off the top! Hello everyone. Just signed up here as I've been lurking a few weeks now. I'd never even heard of Mrs. H before. I'm from Canada, and a cousin in England was following her on Insta and it came up on my feed. Well down the rabbit hole I went... but not too far. Her grey style doesn't appeal to me, to each their own (I honestly originally thought it was a grey insta-filter on all her photos but I see many accounts that are all grey, so I guess it's a thing)... but when I realized she had amassed so many followers in such a short time, I really wondered how that was possible. It didn't seem authentic. Her "army" is unsettling and unhealthy human behaviour. It is ego-feeding and validation-seeking at best, and a sad reflection of so many people just wanting to belong to something bigger. Her stories were entertaining initially, just for being quirky, but within a week or so, they just became obvious and repetitive...so much spraying of stuff everywhere. I have had asthma for many years, so I have been sensitive to what I use in the house and again, I brushed it off to "to each their own."
But I stumbled here and some of the posts here have helped me learn how Instagram works for bigger accounts. I have zero problem with someone selling things or making a living this way, and I don't think that Mrs H is mean-spirited in any way, but it's the lack of transparency and exploiting the vulnerable that has got my attention, whether intentional or not. Once you reach a certain point, I believe you have a responsibility. And I agree with many of you that she is more calculating than she seems. I couldn't help but think, the other day when she was showing her neighbourhood in detail, her neighbours' homes, the HILL over there exactly... why would someone in their right mind with such a large following (who knows that her book signings for example will be wildly attended and needs a ticketing system to keep everyone "safe") be pretty much giving a map to pinpoint where she lives? Maybe I'm being a conspiracy theorist now... very unlike me (#hinchmademedoit) but I imagine it is the seed she is planting to explain why in the future, she HAS to move. For the safety of her family and so on. I truly hope no harm comes to her or her family or anyone who publicly shares so much of their lives. I just think we have to be so careful.
Just some of my thoughts. I see things a bit more clearly now, and thanks everyone for sharing. Again, I don't think she is a mean or terrible person, and she does have a sense of humour while turning out content regularly, but I personally feel she may have fallen down her own rabbit hole a bit too quickly and her sense of judgment is compromised. Pointing out people at her local shop was sad. I can only hope that someone with such influence can use their powers to make changes for good. She did allude to something along those lines in her recent interview, about big companies and people's concerns about the environment and chemicals but we can only hope. I don't believe in mean or rude comments, but I do appreciate knowledge being spread. We can all make our own informed decisions once we are aware.