Matt and Abby on the Cruise Controversy: "We Take Our Role As Parents Extremely Seriously"

TikTok content creators Matt and Abby Howard came under fire for posting videos on social media of themselves Face-timing their children's baby monitors while out at dinner on a cruise. When other users took this to mean the children were in their state rooms alone, unsupervised, the couple was hit with an onslaught of criticisms. And now, Matt and Abby have broken their silence about the cruise and what happened.

On Sept. 16, the couple shared a TikTok to explain that after "people started to speculate and believe" the worst about their parenting and the safety of their children, they had to go on social media to clear the air. And, according to Matt and Abby, their children were never alone once during the entire trip, despite the fact that it appeared that the kids were alone and asleep in their room while Matt and Abby partook in different activities on the cruise.

In their TikTok to address the cruise controversy, Abby says that it "means a lot" to hear the concern and care from their fans about their children. But, she adds, she and Matt "would not leave [their] children unattended" ever. And the same goes for their trip on the cruise, where family members helped them keep an eye on their two toddlers.

"We usually would not be making a video like this, but there is information circulating about us that is completely untrue," Matt says in the TikTok. "So we just wanted to set the record straight, clear the air, because we take our role as parents extremely seriously, and we love our children more than anything in the entire world, and we're very protective of our kids."

Matt adds in the video, "We had someone with our children at all times on this boat, period." In previous videos, it looked as though Matt and Abby had used their phones to see the baby monitor screens while they were far from their rooms. But, according to the couple, that's not the case at all.

They explain in the video that they often watch the monitor to check up on their kids whether they're away on a trip or at home with their toddlers. And in doing so on the cruise, it was an extension of what Matt and Abby would do any other time they can't see their children up close. But, according to them, there was someone supervising the toddlers during this time. And despite the controversy, Matt and Abby shared, their children were never in danger.