‘’It’s killing me’: Heartbreaking reality behind ‘perfect’ family holiday snap

“I was wearing sunglasses and crying behind them,” Indy candidly revealed.

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

June 6, 2024 - 1:15PM

Family Life

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An Australian influencer has relayed the hidden secrets behind her somewhat idealistic photos.

At first glance, everything in this picture looks perfect; a happy mum relaxing on a tropical holiday with her gorgeous baby daughter, enjoying her time to unwind.

But behind the designer sunnies, luscious beach views and balmy nights was a mum barely hanging on, and it’s so relatable.

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There's more to the story. Picture: indyclinton/Instagram

Mum’s road trip with three kids quickly ‘became too much”

Indy Clinton, an influencer from Sydney, recently went on a holiday with her husband Ben and their three children, Navy, three, Bambi, one and five-month-old Soul.

Currently on a road trip across the country, she shared on her Instagram story the realities of travelling with three young kids.

In one snap, she could be seen holding her daughter Soul, who appeared to be struggling out of her mother’s arms.

Indy’s face remained calm and composed, appearing to stare off into the distance with her cute sunnies on.

“I was wearing sunglasses and crying behind them,” she confessed online. “Because it was all just too much.”

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There’s even more to the image, she continued. “I’m covered in Soul’s vomit trying to enjoy an oyster.”

You may wonder why this photo was taken in the first place, but Indy had a reason.

According to her post, amid the vomit, tears and general chaos, her husband Ben “whipped out his phone” and pointed it to Indy, telling her “to smile.”

Forty minutes into their family dinner, Indy was so overwhelmed by her kids’ behaviour that she grabbed them and left her husband to “enjoy his meal.”

And this attitude hasn’t been limited to dinner dates, Indy explained. “Bambi has been screaming all night, every night,” she said.

“She’s waking the entire house up, defiant and hurting herself during the day, black eye and split chin already on this trip.

“Isn’t phased by anything and her only response is ‘no.’”

In contrast, her eldest son, Navy, was behaving beautifully, helping ease the pressure on the stressed mum.

“Navy was such a good three-year-old, wild and full of craziness but so good for me,” she said in the social media post.

“Bambi [is the] complete opposite,” she added. “More wild, more crazy and so bad for me. It’s killing me.”

She was candid about her holiday with three under three. Picture: indyclinton/Instagram

“Holidays aren’t holidays — don’t do it”

This isn’t the first time the Sydney influencer has revealed the brutal reality of raising three under three.

“The holidays you go on are literally for the kids,” she said. “You don’t book a holiday hoping that you’re gonna relax, you’re literally just parenting in a different place.

“Holidays aren’t holidays — don’t do it.”

It’s not just trips away that change once you become a mother, she confessed. She has also dished about how different people treat you after parenthood, strangers and friends alike.

“The more kids you have, the less people check in and care about you,” she said candidly. “I know it’s really sad. It doesn’t make sense. It’s weird, but I figured that out.”

“You will lose pretty much all your friends that you had pre-kids,” she continued.

“If they don’t have kids, you will probably only keep one or two because they’re just on a different pathway to you and they do not get it.”

But there’s always a silver lining.

“You make amazing new friends, and that is what life is about,” she said.