TikTok stars Matt and Abby Howard address Father’s Day controversy

Abby and Matt Howard
Courtesy of Abby Howard/InstagramDouyin users Matt and Abby Howard They reflected on the backlash they received after announcing a boycott of Father’s Day last year.
In the 100th episode of the couple’s “Unplanned Podcast,” released on Wednesday, January 8, the couple discussed the viral clip from the podcast’s infamous May 2024 episode, in which Matt, 26, claimed he was going Father’s Day won’t be celebrated until December because their June 2023 celebrations were “terrible”. (The couple has two sons: Griffin, 2, and August, 1.)
Abby, 25, started the couple revisiting the video, which attracted more than 9.4 million views and an outpouring of criticism. “Matt’s Father’s Day birthday legend. It was an unforgettable moment [the] 2024 Unplanned Podcast. You have to include the emotional trauma,” Abby asks Matt in the new episode.
Matt responded: “Oh my gosh, I can laugh now. [but] I was scared at the time. I think it’s funny now, I’m like, this is so stupid. What I said… was too stupid and obviously didn’t sound good.
He continued: “I looked selfish. I looked egotistical.
Despite Matt’s obvious remorse, Abby said she thought it was “kind of funny in hindsight,” before adding that she didn’t actually watch the controversial video and therefore didn’t know what Matt made of it at the time.
“Overall, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with…the controversy, but I didn’t watch the editing and maybe the editing made it look bad,” Abby admitted. “In this case, that’s our responsibility. I think we’ve got that guy coming.
At the time, Abby, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child, revealed that she combined her husband’s birthday with Father’s Day in 2023 because the two events happened on the same day. The pair also just returned from their honeymoon, and Matt admitted that the family was very busy at the time.
Abby and Matt both agreed that they would “boycott Father’s Day in June” due to the turnout the previous year, and decided to celebrate it in September because “nothing happens in September.”
The high school sweethearts have become somewhat familiar with controversy over the years, drawing criticism again in September 2024 when they revealed that they went to dinner with friends while their children slept in a bedroom at home. “So we ended up taking them for five nights and it was clear they didn’t like it and therefore we didn’t like it either,” Abby wrote on Instagram Stories at the time. “So, then we moved dinner to after their bedtime and FaceTIMED the monitor while eating. It was better for everyone!
Although sources say the post was met with widespread backlash US Weekly Families on the cruise ship “have rooms next to each other and they take turns being there,” adding that the children are “never alone and using a baby monitor is an extra precaution.”
Abby and Matt married in July 2019 and later welcomed their son. The podcast hosts share the highs and lows of their relationship and parenting since becoming parents via podcast and social media.