Sister Wives star Mykelti Padron (née Brown) is addressing the parenting backlash sparked by her road trip post on social media.
Padron, 29, pushed back against the criticism she faced from mom-shamers after allowing her three kids — daughter Avalon and twin sons Archer and Ace — to use iPads to pass the time during a four-hour car ride.
The TLC alum said that she was flooded with so many messages blasting her decision that she felt compelled to speak out about the matter. “I hate when I get judged for how I raise my kids,” she said in a video uploaded on Thursday, January 8. “I got some serious hate comments recently. I actually got hate DMs, massive amounts of them. A lot. And it’s because I gave my kids iPads.”
The reality star explained that her family was en route to visit her younger sister Ysabel, when she and husband Antonio Padron let them use their devices.
Mykelti — one of six kids shared by exes Kody Brown and Christine Brown — said she felt a lot of the remarks sent to her online were unfounded. “They’re fine,” she said of her three children, pointing out it was only four hours. (In addition to Mykelti, Kody and Christine are parents to daughters Aspyn, Gwendlyn, Ysabel, and Truely, as well as their son, Paedon.)
“I feel like as adults, that’s exactly what we do — we get on our phones while we drive,” Mykelti added. “You know, I’m a straight-up passenger princess.”
Mykelti concluded her message, “I don’t like that we get judged so hard as a mom for trying to entertain my kids.”
She fittingly captioned her post, “Cut Mom Shaming in 2026.”
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After watching the clip, several fans supported her in the comments section.
“Seriously?? Who isn’t giving their children a iPad or smart phone on drives??” one wrote in her defense. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation. We are all out here surviving and doing the best we can,” another social media user echoed.
“They are writing hate comments to you… FROM THEIR PHONE. It’s ridiculous. I will never understand the iPad hate from other moms,” a third person agreed.
Fans got to see Mykelti’s big move from Utah, where Christine now resides with husband David Woolley, in an October 2025 episode of Sister Wives.
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“Every time I talk about moving to my mom, I break her heart just a little bit more. She’s really sad. She’s really heartbroken,” Mykelti shared. “She’s really sad because she’s definitely going to miss out on a lot of the years that my kids are young.”
The cross-country move was a decision that Mykelti and Tony reached as he worked toward his career goals. The couple has been married since December 17, 2016 and will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary at the end of this year.
“It’s the chess capital of the U.S.,” he said. “I’m someone who works in chess, makes content, and teaches and coaches. For me, moving out there is so exciting because that’s like the hub.”
