Kayla Houlihan asked if she is pregnant at Melbourne Airport: Tribe Skincare

A beauty blogger and skincare entrepreneur was reduced to tears after being asked a if she was pregnant by a shop assistant at Melbourne Airport.

Tribe Skincare owner Kayla Houlihan posted a video to TikTok – which has gone viral – about the comment she received while browsing in a Rip Curl store. 

While waiting for her delayed flight to Queensland, Houlihan told her 191,000 followers she was at first happy to be able to buy some last-minute holiday items.

Her excitement was soon shattered, though, when a shop assistant assumed she was carrying a child.

‘Oh, how far along are you,’ the shop worker asked, according to Houlihan who is not pregnant.

Tribe Skincare owner Kayla Houlihan (pictured) posted a video to TikTok – which has gone viral – about the comment she received while browsing in a Rip Curl store

Poll

Is it ever OK to ask a woman if she is pregnant?

  • Of course it is. Sometimes it’s just so obvious. 2 votes
  • No. The woman could just be overweight and you could offend her. 8 votes

‘I’ve just spent the last hour crying at Melbourne Airport (over the remark),’ she said on TikTok. 

Ms Houlihan said she was ‘just going about my business, shopping around for some clothes’ when the woman asked her about being pregnant.

‘I was like, ‘What?’ because I’m not pregnant.

‘So I said, ‘No I’m not pregnant.’ And she was like, ‘I’m so sorry I just thought you looked pregnant,” Houlihan said.

Ms Houlihan said the remark made her feel insecure about wearing the swimwear she had packed for her trip.

‘Now I have to go to Queensland and wear a bikini on my holiday because that’s all I have with me after being fat shamed,’ she said.

Her post had more than 32,000 views by Tuesday night, with almost 900 having left a comment. 

Hundreds of commenters said they were shocked by her story and called on Rip Curl to apologise and ‘do better’. 

‘It’s never OK for people to comment on someone else’s body, have the best holiday and embrace your beautiful self,’ one poster said. 

‘Even if I could see the baby crowning I still wouldn’t have the nerve to ask someone if they were pregnant,’ said another.  

Other posters told Ms Houlihan not to let it get to her and that she is a very attractive woman

Other posters told Ms Houlihan not to let it get to her and that she is a very attractive woman 

Others shared their own stories of similar situations. 

‘This happens to me I have endometriosis and am constantly bloated and swollen! It makes me feel so embarrassed like people shouldn’t comment on bodies,’ said one.

‘Same happened to me! I bloat quite badly and I was wearing a dress and she made a comment. I cried for days and still traumatised,’ said another. 

Other posters told Ms Houlihan not to let it get to her and that she is a very attractive woman.

‘You wear your bikini and you wear it proudly! I know it’s hard (I’ve been there too) but you’re incredibly beautiful,’ said one.

‘At the end of the day, someone that you don’t know’s opinion shouldn’t have an affect on us. We’ll likely never see them again, so who cares,’ said another.

Ms Houlihan (pictured) said she felt she was 'fat shamed' after a shop assistant asked if she was pregnant

Ms Houlihan (pictured) said she felt she was ‘fat shamed’ after a shop assistant asked if she was pregnant

Some followers said fighting back with a snarky comment of your own is the best remedy in that type of situation. 

‘Lean into it babe, happened to my sister, she turned around and said ‘6 months and how far into menopause are you’,’ was the advise from one poster. 

Another commenter said ‘Like why do they even care if you were pregnant? It’s not significant to them or any of their business. Grinds my gears.’

Ms Houlihan replied to this, writing ‘So true!! I was quite shopping shopping and not talking.’

Rip Curl has apologised to Houlihan on behalf of its staff member.

‘We have been alerted to an upsetting situation that occurred within one of our stores on Monday,’ a spokesperson told news.com.au.

‘As a brand that celebrates and empowers all women, we are saddened to learn a customer has had this experience.

‘We have been in contact with the customer directly to apologise and to discuss this misunderstanding further.’

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