Hannah Ferrier Dragged for ‘The Real Love Boat’ While Male ‘Below Deck’ Yachties Applauded – ‘I Was Really Disappointed’ [Exclusive]
Former Below Deck Mediterranean chief stew Hannah Ferrier was pretty “disappointed” when some fans slammed her for leaving daughter Ava at home while she went to work on The Real Love Boat.
She was away from her toddler daughter for only a few weeks and husband Josh Roberts was home caring for their child. But some fans still accused her of being a bad mother because she had to travel for work.
The backlash on social media sadly proves that double standards are alive and well in 2022. Ferrier reflected on the comments with Showbiz Cheat Sheet and shared that Roberts was praised for caring for their child while she was away. Meanwhile, no one throws her a ticker tape parade when she’s at home with their daughter.
Male yachties on ‘Below Deck’ don’t receive backlash for leaving their families
Below Deck fans didn’t seem to be upset when Captain Jason Chambers shared on Below Deck Down Under that work and coronavirus (Covid-19) kept him away from his young daughter for at least a year. He certainly seemed heartbroken, but he didn’t appear to feel guilty that he wasn’t there for day to day care.
Along the same lines, no one slammed Captain Lee Rosbach and countless Below Deck deckhands who left their children at home to work at sea. These male yachties were simply doing what they needed to provide for their families.
Thus far only one woman on Below Deck filmed the show while her child, who was 9 years old at the time, was being cared for at home. Producers made sure to show how third stew Jen Howell agonized over being away from her daughter on Below Deck Season 5. The emphasis was also how she put her yachting career on hold to care for her child until now.
Hannah’s husband was praised for handling childcare while she filmed ‘The Real Love Boat’
Ferrier pointed out no one questions Roberts when he travels for work. “My husband actually went to Melbourne last week and I asked him, ‘Did anyone ask you where Ava was?’ He’s like, ‘No. Why would they?'” Hello, double standard.
Ferrier added that Roberts was actually praised for handling child care while Ferrier was shooting The Real Love Boat. When he travels for work it is just assumed that Ferrier is 100% responsible for their daughter all the time. “And it’s no one’s fault, but it’s like the amount of praise and bow down he got for … [caring for his child while she was at work],” Ferrier said.
Hannah was working on ‘The Real Love Boat’ – something men do all the time
Ferrier emphasized that she wasn’t on a six week holiday. “Like, I’m not on holiday. I’m going to work,” she punctuated. “And we’ve got her in daycare five days a week. I know that it’s a lot on your own [for her husband], but also women have been doing that for decades and we don’t like stop the press and put a parade on for them, you know? It’s like, kind of suck it up, buttercup, you know?”
She also pointed out that while Roberts has the solace of an office for work, she’s juggling childcare and work at the same time. “He gets to get up and put his suit on and go into the office every day between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m,” she said. “And a lot of the time I’m home with Ava on my own plus working. That’s kind of just normal.”
She added that the criticism she received for working on The Real Love Boat wasn’t OK. And that every family is different. “I would never shame a woman who wanted to stop work when she had kids,” she pointed out. “Personally, for myself, I feel like I’m a better partner. I’m a better mother, a better daughter, I’m a better friend when I have more going on in my life than just Ava. She’s my whole life. And I will drop anything for her. I would sacrifice anything for her.”
Hannah Ferrier will appear on the Australia version of The Real Love Boat. No word if the series will air in the US.
