Millie Bobby Brown defends husband Jake Bongiovi’s parenting after viral video of her carrying bags

Millie Bobby Brown defended her “sweet” husband, Jake Bongiovi, after he was criticized for not carrying her bags or pushing their baby’s stroller.

“Hi, I’m Millie Bobbie Brown and I’m not gonna lie, when did women become incapable of holding their own bags, car seats and stuff?” the actress said during Thursday’s episode of Kyle Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast.

“This stems from me holding all of my suitcases and bags and my kid and people are like, ‘Your husband doesn’t hold a single thing.’ Because I’m three miles ahead. I have been planning this all night,” she insisted.

“We’re all about empowering girls and, ‘You got it’ and ‘You don’t need a man.’ But then when I’m like, ‘OK, I can carry my own things,’ people are like, ‘Where’s your husband?’

“I can also do it on my own. Nobody knows my husband. My husband is the most polite, sweet, will-do-anything-for-me. But he also knows I’m capable.”

The “Enola Holmes” star added that she’s “not broken.”

Bongiovi has been called out multiple times online for appearing empty-handed while his wife pushes the stroller and carries all the bags.

Last month, photos of the pair in New York City went viral as fans claimed they had “never seen [Bongiovi] carry anything.”

Other social media users have pointed out several instances where Brown appears to be doing all the heavy lifting.

During her podcast appearance, Brown also clapped back at “vicious and angry” women who have shamed her for becoming a mom at 21.

“For everybody who was like, ‘Oh my God, a 21-year-old mom. Oh my gosh, how could she?’ I’m having the most amazing time. My husband and I say this all the time, it’s like going from black and white to color.”

Brown gushed that “everything feels complete and perfect in every way,” but admitted that parenting is “full of moments” where she isn’t always sure what to do.

She also recognized that parenting is a “huge responsibility,” especially raising a daughter.

“Raising a daughter coming from my experience having a really public childhood and getting criticized as a girl and as a woman so frequently, I just take it really seriously to raise a girl that can be proud of who they are and be confident.”

Brown and Bongiovi announced that they adopted their daughter last August in a joint statement shared via Instagram.

“This summer, we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption,” their statement read. “We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy.”

The parents have made sure to keep their baby out of the spotlight and have yet to share her name publicly.

“For me, it’s really important to protect her and her story,” Brown told British Vogue last November of the decision. “It’s not my place to purposefully put her in the spotlight unwillingly.”

The Emmy nominee further explained that she and her husband want to keep their daughter’s name private “until she’s old enough to potentially one day share it herself.”

Brown and Bongiovi have been married since May 2024.