Arie Luyendyk Jr., Lauren Burnham Draw The Internet's Ire Over April Fools' Day Pregnancy Joke
Arie Luyendyk Jr. irked netizens after he joked about fiancée, Lauren Burnham, being pregnant on social media. The Bachelor star received criticisms for being insensitive.
Pregnancy Joke
Luyendyk Jr. is facing criticisms after his April Fool's joke backfired on him. The 36-year-old thought that pranking people about Burnham being pregnant would get him high fives. However, he got nasty comments instead.
Secrets finally out, we have a bunny in the oven! @laurenburnham91 pic.twitter.com/Mmx50ePDaB — Arie Luyendyk Jr. (@ariejr) April 1, 2018
Soon after, Luyendyk Jr. tweeted that the pregnancy announcement was just an April Fool's joke. Other users did not take his post kindly and criticized the race car driver for being insensitive to those struggling to get pregnant.
"It's not a joke for many struggling families to get pregnant, it's extremely expensive and it's heartbreaking," one Twitter user wrote and wished nothing but the best for the couple but thought the joke was "cruel."
"1 in 8 women struggle infertility. I really and truly hope that if this is a joke, when you do try to conceive you aren't met with the harsh reality that so many face," another commented.
"So many women are trying everything they can to conceive and then you joke about this? It's just really in poor taste. A 'we eloped' photo would have been much more appropriate," another user wrote, while another said, "I was never able to have children due to infertility and a miscarriage. Pregnancy isn't something to joke about."
However, there also those who defended Luyendyk Jr. and asked people not to be overly sensitive and to calm down.
"People need to chill it's a day to joke around," one user wrote and another said, "People are too sensitive geez, this joke has nothing to do with you or your struggles."
Dutch Baby
The reality TV star seemed to address the backlash on his Instagram story soon after. He shared a photo of a Dutch Baby recipe along with the caption, "Sorry if you were offended, but we really are making a Dutch Baby."
The Bachelor stars opened up about their excitement to get married and start a family in a previous interview. Luyendyk Jr. even admitted that he wants two to four kids and if he and Burnham get lucky, maybe they would have twins.
