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’90 Day Fiancé’ Stars Paola and Russ Mayfield Respond to Backlash After Revealing Son Axel Had First Vaccination

Reality TV

Mar 5, 2019 11:56 am·

By Chelsea Duff

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There’s not a lot that celebrities can do without getting hate from someone. But when it comes to talking about vaccinations, Instagram commenters really seem to up the ante. So when 90 Day Fiancé star Paola Mayfield decided to open about her and Russ Mayfield‘s son getting his first vaccination, well, she was pretty much already braced for impact. Though the star got a lot of love for her post, she also got a lot of ugliness. Luckily, she knew just how to handle it. Check out the gallery below to see how Paola responded to the vaccination backlash.

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'90 Day Fiancé' Stars Paola and Russ Mayfield Respond to Backlash After Revealing Son Axel Had First Vaccination

The new parents are doing their best.

After welcoming their son, Axel, on January 1, they knew they had a long path ahead of them. While thanking fans for their kind words online, Russ assured everyone that his wife and baby were “doing great” — but that they all had “so much to learn.”

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Axel is the sweetest little thing.

In the following two months, mom Paola has been sharing precious pics of her boy. She’s even posted pics of her breastfeeding her son, preemptively responding to the backlash. On one post, she added the hashtag #dontlikeitdontlook, then continued with #breastfeedinginpublic, #breastfeedwithoutfear, and #normalizebreastfeeding.

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The hate is real.

But Paola isn’t about to let that stop her from being the best mom that she can be. When a fan asked how she manages when she gets stared at in public, she responded, “If I have to feed my baby, I wouldn’t care what others will think.”

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Still, things aren’t always easy.

In late January, the 31-year-old mom opened up about her “baby blues” online. “I’ve been having a tough week, I’m not going to lie. I think I’m experiencing the baby blues after giving birth,” she shared.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BumjWrknCjs/

But she’s making it through.

“My only motivation is seeing my baby growing strong and healthy,” she continued. “I normally don’t like to open up this much on social media but at the same time, it’s good to open up and talk about it knowing this will pass soon!”

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Luckily, Paola’s become an expert when it comes to dealing with haters.

Which came in pretty handy when she decided to open about her and Russ’ decisions about vaccinating Axel — and exactly what vaccinations they wanted to do. The new mom shared their thoughts online in a candid Instagram post.

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ℙ𝕒𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕 🌱♥︎ (@paola_mayfield)

“My baby boy had his first vaccination today,” she shared.

“Axel was so brave just like his mommy. [Russ] has been reading The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. We have decided that we want to give our son specific vaccinations and avoid potential risks and side effects,” she continued.

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Paola Mayfield Says Vaccinations Went Well

It went well.

“[Axel] didn’t cry much,” Paola assured a fan who was going through the same process with their daughter. “I had my boob ready for him,” she added, laughing. “That helped a lot!”

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But then the hate started.

Though some criticized her for getting vaccines at all, most were upset that the couple had elected to only do “specific” vaccinations. “ALWAYS vaccinated children,” snapped back one Instagram commenter. “We don’t need walking small pox blankets everywhere!”

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People got harsh.

“Oh great,” wrote a second follower. “Another person using their platform for pseudoscience.” Others joined in, attacking both the author of the book that Russ had read as well as the parents themselves.

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Some got personal.

“As the mother of a baby with cancer, let me just say what a selfish choice you are making,” read another comment. “Not to mention the fact that you literally CAN’T do your own research on vaccines. You are putting your child, and those who are immunocompromised, at risk. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

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Some had jokes.

Though whether or not they were funny is debatable. “They reached into a hat and picked which deadly diseases they are going to protect dear Axel against and which ones they aren’t,” said one Instagram user with laughing emojis. “#Russianroulette,” they continued. “Pro vaccine but only partially.”

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It got real.

“Just ignorant — clearly vaccinations are in place for a season. … Good you know best, though! Reality TV star/model/doctor!” criticized a fan sarcastically. “People that think NOT giving kids vaccinations ‘protects them’ [are] very ignorant. You don’t ‘catch’ autism. … Wish there was a vaccination for stupid people!” They even offered some extra perspective. “Here in Canada, you can prolong vaccinations. However, children will be suspended from school if the vaccinations are not up to date. Good luck!”

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They came for Russ especially.

“Russ can be stupid with his awful haircuts,” read a comment. “But don’t let him be stupid when it comes to vaccinations.”

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For some, it was a deal breaker.

“I truly liked you, but I can’t support this,” wrote one sincere fan. “I’ll just have to unfollow you and it makes me sad,” they continued, adding a frowning face with their message.

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Paola Mayfield Responds To Vaccination Backlash

But Paola chose to rise above.

Instead of reacting to those upset by her post — whether out of real concern for the star and her child or with uncalled for cruelty — the new mom decided to just ignore the hate. “Certain people tend to be nasty about anything I do,” she told one fan who called her “brave” for sharing the post. “I’m used to dealing with this, lol.”

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Ain’t that the truth.

After she was recently attacked for seeming like another Kardashian in the making, she brushed off the criticism like it was nothing. This is one tough mama — and when it comes to Instagram comment hate, she clearly knows how to hold her own.