Family Photo Turns Awkward as Pregnancy Announcement Falls Flat

26 June 2025

A woman showing a pregnancy test to her surprised family. With an excited look on her face, she waited for her mom’s reaction but was instead met with confusion. Tiktok/@olena.perez

Expectant first time mom Olena Perez planned what she thought would be a joyful surprise when telling her family she was expecting. Desiring to capture the moment she unveiled a pregnancy test to her loved ones she arranged a faux photo session with the help of a stranger holding a camera. The intention was simple: line everyone up say cheese and reveal her good news. Instead the reveal led to confusion and disappointment when her announcement fell flat.

She posed her family into place and then claimed she needed lipstick from her bag. Instead of makeup she produced a positive pregnancy test brandishing it like a trophy. Her mother’s reaction was not what she had hoped for. The mother appeared unprepared offering a muted “Really?” tapping her daughter’s hand and motioning to carry on with the picture as though nothing had happened. The rest of the family followed suit with little reaction to the news leaving Perez visibly deflated. She rolled her eyes and muttered “Oh my god” as she retrieved her phone from the person filming. She later shared the video captioning it “My mom loves a good pic” reinforcing how her attempt to share something deeply personal had been overshadowed.

Within hours the video went viral, racking up 16 million views and generating a swell of commentary. Viewers from across the internet lined up to judge the behavior they saw as cold and self centered. Some called Perez’s mother narcissistic declaring that she “ruined everything.” Others pointed out the dishonesty of using the event as a photo opportunity. More than one user expressed disbelief that the family failed to embrace such a milestone or even hug the expectant mother.

But amid the flood of condemnation there were voices sympathetic to the mother’s perspective. Some argued she was focused on the family photo at hand suggesting that she may have genuinely thought this was a normal photo and didn’t grasp the meaning of the object until after so the reaction may not have been malicious. Others questioned the trend of elaborate pregnancy announcements itself claiming that making such a moment about staging or filming can impose unrealistic expectations on natural family occasions.

Still the most consistent takeaway from the online discussion was that pregnancy announcements are increasingly tied to public performances rather than private celebrations. Influencers and celebrities alike have collaborated with brands to monetize their reveals, and many families feel pressure to produce cinematic declarations worthy of social media admiration rather than secret and spontaneous joy.

Just weeks earlier influencer Ella May Ding found herself at the center of a backlash after her own pregnancy reveal on Instagram was revealed to be a paid sponsorship for a pregnancy test brand. Ding defended herself pointing out that the ad aligned with her personal story. But critics dismissed the post as opportunistic highlighting how social media transformation is eroding the genuine intimacy that used to define such moments.

Perez’s video struck a nerve because it illustrated something more fundamental. When her mother responded with indifference it exposed a rift between expectation and reality, between meaning and optics. Her reaction became a mirror reflecting deeper societal questions about how we value authenticity, structure ritual and create memory.

For those who responded online the incident felt like a cautionary tale about making private events public. Viewers accused Perez of hypocrisy for filming the moment with strangers present rather than sharing the news privately. Others questioned why she would set up her mother in order to capture her reaction in video rather than simply telling her in person.

Meanwhile debate emerged over whether Perez or those captured in the video should receive more compassion. Was her mother’s fleeting response a sign of carelessness or a symptom of generational communication gaps around how birth announcements should be shared? The internet offered dozens of interpretations and few answers.

Some commenters took the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences of delivering big news. One user shared how they learned to gauge timing carefully after a loved one reacted poorly to a surprise reveal. Another described choosing to text a friend news of a lost pregnancy because face to face news felt too emotionally complex.

What is clear is that the Perez video tapped into a broader cultural tension. We are living in a moment when nearly every life milestone is shaped not only by emotion but by image potential and audience expectation. The result can feel hollow. Moments like this remind us how easy it is to confuse social media presence with emotional presence.

As for Olena Perez she received a wave of support online. Many expressed genuine empathy encouraging her to surround herself with family and friends who go beyond likes when celebrating life’s big moments. Others suggested she reframe the experience as a lesson for the family rather than a failure.

Despite its viral status the incident does not define her journey. Becoming a mother is personal and complicated and public reactions will always vary. What stands out the most from this moment is how it reminds us to examine our own impulses. Are viral moments worth risking emotional authenticity? And can we balance sharing our joys online with the very real need to connect heart to heart.

Perez may now wait for a better moment to share her journey. But this unexpected reveal offers a moment of pause for us all to ask how we hold space for joy in a world that often prefers spectacle.