TikTok couple Matt and Abby Howard deny leaving young children unattended in cruise cabin: 'We take our role as parents very seriously'

An influential couple have been forced to deal with “false” allegations that they left their two children unattended in their cruise cabin while they enjoyed a romantic dinner at the ship's restaurants.

Impressive Matt and Abby Howard were on a seven-night cruise over the weekend with their sons, Griffin, 2, and August, 1, when mom Abby posted about the two tots FaceTimeing in their cabin while she and Matt enjoyed dinner.

Abby, 25, claimed they had to because baby monitors didn't “work on board” on cruise ships.

Many online were quick to speculate that this meant the couple left the youngsters alone in the cabin – which added to the flames when Abby deleted the post.

Some have even wildly compared the situation to Madeleine McCann, the UK teenager who disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007 after her parents went out to dinner and left her alone.

“I suppose they've never heard of Madeleine McCann?” One redditor snarkyly commented on a post about the incident.

“Makes me think of Madeleine McCann,” added another.

“Madeleine McCann was the first thing I thought of. She also had selfish parents who wanted an adult outing while on vacation,” wrote another.

However, facing mounting backlash, TikTok parents were forced to clear the air on Monday in a lengthy video explaining that their children were not unreasonable “at any point” on the cruise.

“We take our role as parents very seriously, and we love our children more than anything in the entire world. We are very protective of our kids,” Matt, 26, said in a video posted on Instagram.

“People start to assume and believe that we leave our children alone in their staterooms – and that's completely untrue.”

Matt insists that their two kids have someone “watching them on this boat all the time. Period.”

“I can see where my story has led to misunderstandings,” Abby said. “That's why I deleted it a few hours after posting it because I could see it was causing anxiety and misunderstanding.”

The mother-of-two thanked her followers for being “concerned about the safety and well-being” of her two children.

“To know that other people share the same concerns for our precious boys, it really means a lot,” Abby said.

“But I want to make it clear that we have never, never will, neglect our children. We never want to harm them in any way.”

He then explained the “baby monitor situation” by explaining that their children sleep in a “blackout tent” with a place for a monitor.

“We always turn on their monitors so we can see and see what's going on inside the tent — make sure they're okay, see if they're asleep or if they're awake,” TikToker shared.

“We just love to keep an eye on them, we're always worried about them.”

Abby added that she and her husband “take turns” watching FaceTime.

“We are very grateful for them, you guys. We spent a lot of time on this boat operating the baby monitor in our stateroom,” says Matt.

“If it wasn't for Abby's extended family, we wouldn't have really gotten a chance to get out of the room.”

Nevertheless, social media users still questioned whether the young parents were telling the truth or trying to cover their tracks.

“Why should you watch monitors if they are with trusted adults? Really curious,” commented one Instagram user.

“It's strange they didn't say who was watching the kids?” Another question.

“If people were going to see your kids, why make the post in the first place?” asked another.

While many wanted more explanation of the situation, others rushed to Howard's defense.

“People will literally find something to tear you apart. You're just a normal young family, living and learning and growing. Everyone in the comments acts like they're perfect,” one user wrote.

“You can see in Abby's face how upset she is about this. Don't let them get to you. People will always talk about something,” commented another.

“It saddens me that as parents we have to explain ourselves. Or you will be verified. Like it's nobody's business. You guys are awesome,” another user added.

Matt and Abby were high school sweethearts who married in July 2019. Three years later, they started growing their family, giving birth to their sons in July 2022 and August 2023.

The couple has been together since high school, has more than 5 million followers on TikTok and more than 7 million subscribers on YouTube, and hosts “The Unplanned Podcast,” which “dives into real conversations around relationships and family.”