Millie Bobby Brown Fires Back at Critics Telling Her Husband Jake Bongiovi to Push the Stroller

Millie Bobby Brown has never been someone who shies away from setting the record straight, and when it comes to her family, that instinct kicks into overdrive. The ‘Stranger Things’ actress has spent the better part of a year navigating the pressures of new parenthood in the public eye, all while managing a career that spans acting, producing, and a global fanbase that watches her every move with remarkable intensity.

Brown and her husband Jake Bongiovi, whose father is rock legend Jon Bon Jovi, welcomed a daughter through adoption in the summer of 2025. The pair, who married during a lavish ceremony in Italy in September 2024, have described the experience as “endless joy,” with Brown telling British Vogue that their days are filled with cuddles, laughter, and love. She also called Bongiovi “the most amazing dad” and credited a 50-50 approach to household duties as one of the things she is most grateful for in their partnership.

That rosy domestic picture, however, ran headfirst into the internet’s appetite for criticism. A clip of Millie, Jake, and her longtime friend Noah Schnapp moving through a crowd of photographers circulated widely online, with viewers criticizing Jake for not doing enough while his wife managed their daughter and her belongings.

Photos of the couple out with their daughter in New York fueled a broader “useless husband” narrative, with one commenter writing online that Brown was “carrying the entire family.” The pile-on grew loud enough that it could no longer be ignored.

Brown addressed the backlash directly during a June 10 appearance on Kylie Kelce’s ‘Not Gonna Lie’ podcast, pushing back against the idea that Jake’s hands-free presence during outings was a sign of laziness or indifference. Rather than letting the criticism stand, she turned it into a sharp observation about a double standard, asking, “When did women become incapable of holding their own bags, car seats and stuff?” before explaining that the scenes in question were the result of her own careful planning, not neglect on his part.

Brown made clear that the viral images of her carrying luggage, bags, and her child simultaneously simply reflected her nature as a highly organized planner who likes to take charge, rather than evidence of an imbalanced relationship. She pointed out the irony of a culture that champions women doing things independently but then turns around and criticizes a husband for stepping back and letting his wife do exactly that.

Some parents online actually came to Bongiovi’s defense as the discourse unfolded, with one mother noting that she always preferred to push her own stroller and liked having her husband’s hands free for unexpected moments. It is a perspective that aligns closely with what Brown herself described, suggesting that the outrage may have said more about assumptions around gender roles than about what was actually happening in their family dynamic.

Brown has made it clear she intends to raise her daughter on her own terms, far from the noise of social media. The couple lives in Georgia, and Brown has spoken about enjoying farm life and staying largely disconnected from online platforms.

For someone who has been in the public spotlight since she was twelve years old, choosing to keep the details of her family life guarded feels less like a retreat and more like wisdom earned the hard way. Whether the internet is ready to extend that grace to her marriage is another question entirely, so share your thoughts below on whether the criticism of Jake was fair or whether Brown had every right to clap back.