Stassi Schroeder knew returning to reality TV would invite opinions about her life. However, the House of Stassi star admitted that criticism of her parenting hurt far more than the usual negativity she faces online.
The parenting backlash struck a nerve because motherhood is the part of her life she values most and worries about getting right.
Stassi Schroeder addresses backlash over her parenting
Stassi spoke to Us Weekly at the Women in Film Honors on November 5 about the backlash to House of Stassi, which premiered in July. She said she was “really taken aback” by viewers’ opinions of her parenting and admitted that the criticism led to a “mini depression.”
The reality star explained that she can normally deal with negative comments about her personality. Parenting was different because, as she put it, being a mother is “the most important thing” in her life.
Schroeder shares daughter Hartford, 5, and son Messer, 2, with husband Beau Clark. House of Stassi followed the couple balancing family life, Schroeder’s career, and Clark’s role as a stay-at-home dad.
The parenting backlash was not new. In August, Stassi addressed “bad mom” criticism after viewers questioned how she and Clark divided their parenting responsibilities. She admitted that accusations of being an absent mother played directly into one of her biggest insecurities.
Those concerns also predated the show. Before House of Stassi premiered, Schroeder discussed mom guilt and the isolation she sometimes experienced while balancing work and motherhood.
Stassi told Us Weekly that overcoming the criticism took time and many conversations with loved ones. Eventually, she learned not to let online opinions define what she knew about herself as a mother.
Her husband, children, and loved ones know the mother she is away from the cameras, she explained. That helped her recognize that comments from strangers did not make those judgments true.
For Stassi, the experience revealed the limits of what she could brush off. While she can handle criticism of her personality, judgments about her parenting are much harder to ignore.
