Alisha Tierney-March, a mother of four from England, caused an uproar on Twitter after she admitted that she has a favorite child.
Tierney-March and husband Julius share kids Addison, 9, Harleigh, 7, Kennedie, 2, and Elijah, 12 months. During a Tuesday, April 17, appearance on This Morning, the 32-year-old confessed she favors Kennedie over the others.
According to the British mom, she was able to breast-feed and bond with Kennedie while the baby’s older siblings were at school. She had not been able to nurse Addison or Harleigh when they were babies.
“Addison was a really difficult baby and [Harleigh] would scream from 2 in the afternoon to 2 in the morning – really, really hard work,” said Tierney-March. She has since connected with Addison and shares a love of sports with Harleigh, but she just prefers Kennedie’s company.
“Kennedie is just all around nicer to be around,” Tierney-March revealed. “I’ve just got a different bond with Kennedie. I have got such a strong bond with her. I’m not sure if it’s down to breast-feeding.”
Cohost Holly Willoughby wasn’t shy about expressing her concern about the favoritism. “The alarm bells are ringing about how that will affect them,” she mused, referring to the other children. “Do you not worry about the impact that’s going to have on them?”
Tierney-March answered by explaining Kennedie doesn’t get special treatment. “They all get loved equally,” she said. “My husband thinks Kennedie gets away with more, but I’m not going to punish a 2-year-old the way I do a 7 or 9-year-old.”
Later in the segment, Tierney-March admitted that she cried for days when she learned her youngest — Elijah — was going to be be a boy. She had wanted another girl. “I was disappointed,” she declared. “He’s hard work.”
Twitter users shared Willoughby’s disgust.
“It’s very harmful for children as they grow to know they are loved/thought of differently,” tweeted one woman. Added another: “They’re children not shoes, love!!!” Others expressed concern that Addison, Harleigh and Elijah will grow up with emotional issues. As one wrote: “Those children are unavoidably going to grow up with psychological issues. To think there are people out there who can’t have kids.”
