TikTokers Matt & Abby Slammed for Leaving 2 Toddlers in Cruise Room

TikTokers Matt Howard and Abby Howard Face Backlash for Leaving Toddlers in Cruise Ship Cabin

Matt Howard and Abby Howard are cruising into a new controversy. 

The married TikTokers, who post under the joint account Matt & Abby, shared that on a recent cruise with their sons Griffin, 2, and August, 13 months, they left the boys asleep in their stateroom while the two of them went to dinner, adding they were monitoring them via FaceTime.

“So we ended up taking them for 5 nights,” Abby wrote in a since expired Instagram Story, “and it became apparent that they weren’t enjoying it and therefore we weren’t either.”

She explained that the couple—who married in 2019 during their sophomore year of college—switched their dining time to after their children’s bedtime and “FaceTimed the monitors while we ate.”

The 25-year-old noted that, “Baby monitors don’t work on board unless you’re only like 10 feet away.”

And she was happy with the decision she and her 26-year-old husband made, writing, “That worked out muchhhh better for everyone! :)”

However, soon after sharing the update, the Unplanned Podcast cohosts found themselves the subject the criticism around the internet.

“Obviously not enough people take true crime seriously,” TikToker yourfinestpardon said in a video posted Sept. 15. “It’s terrifying. Like, what happens if you come back from eating dinner and you have no idea how your kids are doing? How long—if there was an emergency—would it take you to get back to the room?”

Instagram/Abby Howard

And users were just as outraged in the comments of her video, with one writing, “They would legitimately be in jail right now for abandonment if this was on land.”

Another wrote, “I’m just saying, what other situations do they leave their kid alone,” while one TikToker added, “AND TO ANNOUNCE YOU LEFT THEM ALONE ON THE CRUISE.”

In response to the backlash, a source close to the couple told E! News that the pair were traveling with Abby’s family members, who had rooms right next door to each other on the ship. According to the insider, they were taking turns being with the kids, and the boys were never alone. The source added that the use of baby monitors was an additional precaution.

E! News has reached out to Matt and Abby for comment.

Instagram/Abby Howard

This is not the first time the podcasters have made headlines with a controversial decision. Earlier this year, Matt and Abby declared that they would not be celebrating Father’s Day, because the annual holiday always fell around Matt’s birthday, making celebrations feel redundant.

“Last year was June 18, which is Matt’s birthday,” Abby explained on a May episode of their podcast, “so he had Father’s Day and his birthday on the same day and I will say, I did kind of combine the holidays.”

Matt noted that having the joint celebrations was “kind of was a bummer.”

“Hey, but you know what?” he continued. “This year we’re boycotting Father’s Day for the month of June, and celebrating it three months after my birthday.”

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