Star of Pretty Little Liars, Shay Mitchell, who is currently pregnant with her second child (she already has a daughter, Atlas), has clapped back in the most hilarious way over an issue that many expectant parents go through: having their baby bump rubbed or touched by, well, pretty much everyone. And often without being asked first.
It's a pretty wild phenomena if you think about it, right? You wouldn't just go up to a random person in the street and start stroking and cooing over their left forearm or their nose, so why does that train of thought seem to go out the window when a baby bump is involved? Anyway, we digress...
But it's clearly something that Shay has been experiencing throughout her pregnancy too, as the star made a brilliant video showing herself in various scenarios – from browsing for clothes, to eating snacks, to sunbathing – and having multiple people come over and start putting their hands on her stomach.
Making her point in a witty way, Shay added the caption: "No petting, but you can definitely feed 😂"
Shay's 32 million followers were quick to flood the comments section of her video with their own thoughts too, with many agreeing they'd also experienced unwanted 'pregnancy petting' (is that the official term? If not, it is now!).
"Gosh it’s so strange to consider this a thing… having an entire pregnancy during pandemic meant no one at all touched my belly except for my husband. But in the real world, where we aren’t in isolation, petting really is a thing isn’t it?! I can imagine it’s quite an annoying one 😂" one wrote, generating almost 300 likes (always a good sign of #relatablecontent).
Everyone's clicking on...
Another added, "Hahahaah so trueeeee i hated that" while a third said "Seriously tho… why, why do they do it?? 😂😂😂😂😂🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄"
One Instagram user even shared their own unique method for dealing with unwanted stomach rubbers and said, "I always pet their stomach back 😂🤷🏼♀️"
So, let's all take note gang! No. More. Pregnancy. Petting.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
