EXCLUSIVE: The former reality star defends her decision to monetise her pregnancy announcement.

MAFS’ Ella Ding / Ella's pregnancy announcement with her husband Guy Palermo.

MAFS’ Ella Ding has defended her decision to announce her pregnancy with a sponsored post. Photos: Instagram/ellamayding

Former Married At First Sight bride Ella Ding has finally responded after copping backlash for her sponsored pregnancy announcement. The 31-year-old revealed last week that she and her husband Guy Palermo, who she secretly married in April 2024, were expecting their first child together.

Amongst the congratulatory messages from her followers and fellow MAFS participants, many people described the post as “cringe”, “tacky” and “embarrassing” because it was a paid partnership with Clearblue. Ella certainly isn’t the first public figure who has done this, with US stars Tamera Mowry, Daniella Monet and Alexa PenaVega all teaming up with the pregnancy test brand in the past, but she is one of the first in Australia to do so.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about the unexpected reaction to her post, Ella argues that anyone in her position would’ve done the same thing.

“It was a no-brainer. When the opportunity came to me, I was like, ‘Well, Clearblue literally told me I’m pregnant’. Like, I don’t really know how much more you can align with a brand,” she says with a laugh.

“The response I was like, ‘That’s a bit weird’, but at the same time, it made sense to me, and that’s like anything that I do, promote or talk about. If it makes sense to me and my people understand, that’s all that matters. And if you got offered, you would take it!”

MAFS’ Ella Ding's pregnancy announcement.

Ella’s followers described the post as ‘cringe’, ‘tacky’ and ‘embarrassing’. Photos: Instagram/ellamayding

Ella went on to say that she and her husband have agreed that they would accept any opportunities for their baby to start making money because “having a baby is f**king expensive” and “cost of living is f**ked”.

“We’re gonna open up a little bank account when it’s born, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” she details. “It’s something that I wish my parents did for me from when I was a young age, and something that I really want to do for our baby to start helping them save from a really young age.”

Before announcing her pregnancy on social media, Ella admits that she had planned to replicate Kylie Jenner’s strategy and ‘hard launch’ the baby once it was born. However, everything changed with the release of her new podcast, The Ella Era, which officially launched on Tuesday.

“I was like, hang on, I have a podcast launching, that’s not gonna work,” she remarks. “And then I started to show really soon, so it was like, ‘F**k, I think we actually have to announce a bit sooner than we kind of anticipated’.

“But I am still in a bit of disbelief, because I haven’t had any pregnancy symptoms. I peed on about four sticks because I was like, ‘I’m not pregnant, babe. Like, I don’t feel anything’. I’m well over the first trimester now as well, and I’m still getting up every day at 4am, I’m still going to the gym, I’m still running – but slowly – and I’m just filling out. Very lucky.”

The Ella Era is Ella’s return to podcasting following the end of Sit With Us with Domenica Calarco last year, and sees the former reality star open up about “the habits, mindsets and moments that have helped her grow”.

“The Ella Era is very much everything that I’m passionate about, everything I preach on a daily basis, things I’ve shared online since forever, since before MAFS. You know, health and wellness, super taboo topics that I talk about behind closed doors that no one knows about,” she describes.

“A big part of this podcast is going to be interviewing successful, self-made entrepreneurs. I’ve always been a business gal. Before MAFS, I had businesses with my family. I’ve had failures and I’ve had wins and I’ve had to close down businesses, go from starting all over again, and I just find it so interesting hearing people’s stories and, most importantly, their failures.”

Ella adds that her podcast and her pregnancy are “two very different journeys”, but she will occasionally share updates with her listeners.