Why People Need To Stop Speculating On Married At First Sight's Tayah's 'Pregnancy'

It’s been a dramatic season of Married At First Sight UK, with things set to get even more intense in tonight’s episode.

The final dinner party sees some couples make some announcements about the future of their relationships – but it’s Tayah and Adam’s news that have set tongues wagging.

Tayah announced the pair were ‘expecting', leading many people on social media to speculate she was having a baby with Adam.

You can watch the video below.

The announcement comes just days after fans took to Instagram to ask whether Tayah was pregnant, after one person believed her figure-hugging white dress made her look as if she had a baby bump.

It may have been meant in good faith, but this rather blunt questioning of a woman’s anatomy is just rude. We wouldn’t dream of asking a stranger in the street whether she was pregnant, so why do we think it’s acceptable to do it online?

Pregnancy speculation used to be the bread and butter of 90s showbiz mags and tabloid journalism. Intense close-ups of women’s abdomens were put on picture spreads, with red rings around their middles asking readers to guess whether it was a baby or a big lunch in women’s stomachs.

But things have changed a lot since then. You’d think we’d have left the speculation about women’s bodies back in the dark ages where they belong...

Instagram - tayahvictoria)

It’s not just Tayah who’s fallen victim to the ‘pregnancy’ police – TikTok’s debating about Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy were abundant, with one girl even suggesting the length of Kylie’s nails pointed towards the make-up mogul being with child, before it was officially announced.

Elsewhere, other women in the public eye have been the topic of debate about why they don’t have a child yet, with Jennifer Aniston's “baby dramas”, or lack thereof, regularly taking up column inches.

Generally speaking, other women’s wombs are none of our business, and whether we notice a celebrity wearing baggier clothes, or shielding their tummies, we shouldn’t immediately take to their social media to ask if they’ve got a bun in the oven.

For many women, pregnancy is a special and rewarding time between themselves and their families, and they may want to keep that to themselves.

For others, pregnancy is stressful and overwhelming, and they want their space away from prying eyes; no matter what their circumstances are, they deserve to have these wishes respected.

PA Images)

There’s also the horror of speculating a women’s pregnancy when she’s not pregnant. A recent survey by Glamour magazine found a staggering 97 per cent of women have issues with body image, with vanity apps such as Instagram and its numerous filters only fuelling fears of comparison and not looking at our very best at all times.

Saying a woman as slim as Tayah must be pregnant because her stomach is not entirely flat is something that can be hugely damaging.

Tayah herself called out the implications of that person’s comment. “It's called being a female and having a natural slight bump on your stomach WHICH IS NORMAL,” she responded.

“This is such a damaging comment, I'm a thin person as well so you really need to check yourself before you comment such damaging things to young women.”

Another point to consider is that pregnancy speculation may be upsetting for women who have struggled to conceive naturally.

Tayah herself has spoken candidly about having miscarried on Married At First Sight UK, and so people asking her about pregnancy could be particularly triggering.

Instagram - kyliejenner)

For the most part, what a woman chooses to do with her body – be it have a child in public, be pregnant in private, or not have children at all – is simply nothing to do with us.

Jennifer Aniston summarised it best in an open letter in 2018.

“For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up. I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of 'journalism', the 'First Amendment' and 'celebrity news,’” she says.

“The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant (for the bajillionth time... but who's counting) points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they're not married with children."

So whatever Tayah and Adam are ‘expecting’, let’s just wait for them to announce it in their own time – and leave the pregnancy speculation well behind.

Topics: TV And Film, Celebrity, Parenting

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley