HEY BABY, WE’RE STARS
WHEN Gold Coast Instagram star Hannah Polites gave birth to beautiful baby Evaliah in August, she was surprised to find her online fanbase underwent a major change. Gone were many of her male followers, but in their place came fellow mums, who delight in following Hannah and Evaliah’s adventures.
INSTAGRAM star Hannah Polites has been abandoned by many of her male followers after having a baby.
But the 26-year-old Gold Coaster, who made a name for herself when her fitness posts went viral, has instead picked up new followers among fellow mums after giving birth to daughter Evaliah in August last year.
“I definitely have lost a lot of male followers and people that maybe aren’t interested in babies but I’ve gained a lot of mummy followers since my page has changed a lot,” she said
“I think my followers have grown with me: the girls who were 20 are now 26 and they want to see more about babies and marriage. They want to know me, and Evaliah is a part of me, but I try not to share too many pictures of her because that’s not why people followed me in the first place.”
The Southport mum copped criticism last year for exercising while pregnant with Evaliah – and the baby backlash hasn’t stopped.
“I sometimes get comments from people on Instagram saying I should be looking after my baby but I think if Evaliah isn’t in the photo they just assume I’m not with her,” she said.
“She does everything with me: in the morning she comes to gym or pilates and sits with the other babies and dances to music. She comes to cafes and restaurants (and) she loves the beach.
“Every time I take her to Bali or Hawaii she heads straight for the water.”
Ms Polites has also faced down criticism for breastfeeding her daughter in public, but the former St Stephen’s College student doesn’t let it bother her.
“I’ve had so many people come up to me and say thank you for sharing that photo (of breastfeeding).”
Ms Polites, who has 1.5 million followers and is paid to travel the world, is set to marry her partner Garth Small at a destination wedding next year.
The pair met when they were both working at Gold Coast University Hospital, Garth as a paediatrician and Hannah as a midwife
“The wedding is overseas next September with about 120 guests ... it will be elegant and formal, it’s not a beachy wedding,” she said.