Bikini influencer responds after she’s blasted for ‘offensive’ comments about not wanting children

Australian influencer Karina Irby has doubled down on her comments about not wanting children – which struck a chord with some of her followers.

In a post from July, Irby shared a series of wholesome snaps of her and her partner, Ryan. Her lengthy caption informed her 1.2 million followers that the pair were “genuinely not interested” in having children.

She explained that while she and her partner “love children”, they enjoy their life as it is.

“We’re selfish. We LOVE our lives together and having the freedom to do whatever we want, when we want,” she wrote.

“Running a company is like having a child. You never rest, you’re always on and your love for it continues to grow every day. Also, the thought of putting another human on this planet scares me right now,” she added.

Her comments did not go down well with some of her followers, who opposed the comparison of owning a business to having a child.

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“I respect your thoughts but please don’t compare your company to parenthood. Ever,” one said.

While another highlighted that a business gives her freedom and control over “where it goes and what it does.” “Your company doesn’t need a safe place in the world,” they added.

On Tuesday, the influencer returned to Instagram to readdress the critics from her summer post. She addressed that “children and business are not the same thing”, and the intention wasn’t to have a “comparing competition” on her initial post.

“I was simply expressing that running a busy company (along with a lot of other factors) fulfils us,” she said. “Honestly, I find some of these statements a little offensive and misguided.”

Describing her business as her “10 year old child, she proceeded: “And, no disrespect to any parents out there, but she has been an absolute handful, to say the very least.

“Sleep? Don’t even get me started.

“Safety? Absolutely your company needs to be safe in the world. Incredibly important! Even more-so when you have employees relying on their jobs and you.

“Weekends? Holidays? Down time? Non-existent as well. You’re non-stop working, planning or just thinking and worrying 24/7. You cannot replace a business if it fails. You literally start over … from the beginning.”

“I never diminished your journey,” she concluded. “I merely expressed my feelings and desires. So don’t diminish mine.”

Indy100 has reached out to Karina Irby for comment.