It’s bitter come-down for a woman who had been one of the UK’s most popular ‘mumfluencers’, complete with book deals and lucrative brand endorsements.Īs Sara McCorquodale, author of Influence: How Social Media Influencers Are Shaping Our Digital Future, puts it: ‘I don’t think anyone - least of all Clemmie - could foresee how toxic this whole affair would become.’Ĭlemmie’s journey into the influencer world began in 2011, when the then 25-year-old Bristol-based midwife and mother-of-two launched an online blog called Gas And Air.īasic and functional, the blog was an endearing mix of the professional and personal.Įarly on, she revealed her initial foray into motherhood had happened by accident. Though this will not affect her ability to continue to work as a midwife, it is nevertheless a stain on her record. Last week, following a lengthy investigation, the 38-year-old’s online activity saw her found guilty of misconduct at a fitness to practise hearing by the Nursing & Midwifery Council.Īs a result Clemmie, currently working part-time as a midwife for the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was handed a one-year caution order. Yet the fallout has continued long after her unmasking. Hooper, through her online troll account, accused black influencer and author Candice Brathwaite of ‘social climbing’, being ‘aggressive’ and using her ‘race as a weapon’ Clemmie deactivated her Mother of Daughters account, the lucrative brand associations melted away and the scandal sparked global headlines as commentators pondered the hitherto unseen dark side of a world that trades on aspiration, relatability and inclusivity. For this internet troll and Clemmie Hooper were one and the same.Īlice’s identity was uncovered by fellow Tattle users who - in an act of online sleuthing worthy of Coleen Rooney - had noticed that Alice often posted from exotic locations that exactly matched where Clemmie was holidaying at the time.Īfter initial denials - ‘I’m not associated with MoD or her Insta crew’ Alice wrote in March 2019 - by November that year, amid ongoing fierce online speculation, Clemmie was forced to admit she was in fact the disagreeable Alice. ’īut then Alice was uniquely placed to know the ins and outs of the couple’s relationship. She was rather less enamoured of Clemmie’s husband, Simon, a fellow influencer who goes by Father of Daughters, writing: ‘Her husband on the other hand is a class A t*** I can’t believe she puts up his nonesene. ‘Generally she seems to be more conscious about sharing more engaging content,’ she claimed in another.Ĭlemmie, Alice added, ‘seemed like a laugh’. ‘Her passion shines through,’ she wrote in one post. Her popularity led to her fronting adverts for M&S and Boden, while assorted celebrities appeared on her podcast - and AliceinWanderlust was clearly a fan. Using the moniker ‘Mother of Daughters’, midwife and mother-of-four Clemmie Hooper had gained almost 700,000 followers, courtesy of her photogenic family and unvarnished tales from the frontline of motherhood. Her posts were frequent enough to attract raised eyebrows from other site users - especially since there was only one mumfluencer who met with Alice’s approval. In another, more controversial post, she accused black influencer and author Candice Brathwaite of ‘social climbing’, being ‘aggressive’ and using her ‘race as a weapon’. ‘Oversharing a bit whiffy,’ Alice claimed. Bethie Hungerford, a self-declared ‘American mama in London’, was slammed as desperate.
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