'Shamed': Why this single mum was questioned for taking a solo holiday
Single mum Nicki Price had been looking forward to her first holiday by herself since having her two children, aged 12 and eight.
The mum says she'd been enjoying her two-week solo trip to Europe until she started receiving questions like "Where are your kids?" and "Why aren't your kids there with you?"
Her kids were on holiday with their dad and his new partner, so Price had thought it was the perfect opportunity to treat herself for once. Then the questions started rolling in.
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Nicki Price says her solo trip to Europe led to a lot of questions about where her kids were. Instagram
"Firstly, these questions came from people who I rarely, if ever, spoke to who thought to ask a question that had nothing to do with them," she says.
"And secondly, why do people see photos of single mothers enjoying their life and their first thought is 'but where are the kids?'"
Price, who runs her own business and worked throughout the overseas holiday, says she felt "judged" and "shamed" for taking off without her kids.
"As mothers, we are judged. As single mothers, we receive more judgment. Throw in being a single mum in business and the judgment is off the charts."
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Price felt shamed for taking a holiday without her kids after being flooded with questions. Instagram
But then she felt scared that it would lead to more questions and more judgement.
"To be completely honest, I was terrified, especially because it was out there in the public domain for all my followers to see and people who I work with," she says.
Her first instinct "as a single mum" was to "defend" herself.
"Once the way your mothering is being questioned you feel like you have to defend it, and it was really quite insulting."
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"As mothers, we are judged. As single mothers, we receive more judgment." Instagram
"Rather than questioning why a mother is enjoying her life with the money she has earned all by herself, we should be celebrating these things with her."
Despite receiving a lot of questions, Price also received "so many beautiful words from friends and family about how wonderful it is that I'm living a fulfilling life on my own".
She says the holiday was cup-filling.
"I had a great time, it was definitely what I needed. I was able to do whatever I wanted, how I wanted to do it, on whatever day I wanted to do it," she says.
"And it's always a novelty as a mum staying in a hotel where you get there somebody else gets to do all the cleaning for you."
Price says after the two weeks, she returned happier and more excited than ever to see her kids again and "got straight back into mothering" and running her own business.
"I did feel like I came back in a great headspace, I was able to clear my head and it just felt like a fresh start again," she says.
Price says her solo holiday abroad made her a better mum when she returned home. Instagram
"Obviously I was so happy to see my children and hear about everything they've been doing, and they missed me a lot and I missed them, so it makes you appreciate each other a lot more too."
She says any single mothers considering a solo holiday should do it for themselves.
"Being a single mum for so long and doing so much of the job myself, it really did feel like I was patting myself on the back for being able to give myself this holiday, which I had earned with my own money as well, so it is a great reward."
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