Dr Kate Adams, the star of The Real Housewives of Sydney, has publicly condemned what she describes as a relentless and unfair double standard that successful, unmarried women without children are forced to endure.
The Stark Contrast with Male Counterparts
In a candid interview, the 42-year-old veterinarian and business owner explained that she is routinely targeted online for her personal life choices in a way that her male equivalents are not. Adams pointed to fellow Bondi-based celebrity vet Dr Chris Brown as the clearest example of this glaring imbalance.
Both are high-profile veterinarians in their 40s. Neither is married nor has children. Yet, Adams asserts that she alone faces constant interrogation and criticism for this lifestyle. "I get asked all the time, 'Why do you put the Dr before your name?' and people say, 'You're not a doctor'," she revealed. "But do you see people running around asking why Dr Chris does that?"
Scrutiny That Extends Far Beyond Professional Titles
The scrutiny, she says, penetrates deeply into her private life. "Do you see people running around asking Dr Chris if he has children? And screaming insults at him about being childless?" she questioned. Adams, who owns Bondi Vet Hospital and holds a legitimate doctorate, stated that the vast majority of the online abuse she receives focuses exclusively on her lack of a husband or children, rather than her professional credentials or career achievements.
"All the trolling revolves around something to do with not having a husband or not having children," she said. The reality television personality admitted she keeps screenshots of the most vicious comments, many of which frame her life as a warning to other women or cruelly predict she will end up alone.
Challenging Outdated Social Norms and Expectations
While she can sometimes find humour in the abuse, Adams stressed that its sheer volume and persistence highlight how deeply entrenched traditional expectations for women remain. She explained that even innocuous posts about home renovations, meals out, or travel can trigger hostile reactions, often from men who seem threatened by her independence and success.
Adams believes the backlash stems from her lifestyle challenging long-standing social structures. "It does not benefit the structures and the powers that be for women to be child-free, not just from a population perspective, but from a control perspective," she argued.
She also pushed back on the notion that having children is a guaranteed path to companionship or security in later life, emphasising that the significant financial and professional sacrifices expected of mothers are seldom fully acknowledged. Crucially, Adams clarified that she never made a conscious decision to remain child-free; she simply never met a partner she believed was the right fit to start a family with.
