Those who spend enough time on Instagram may notice that many of the most popular figures on there have built the followings they have because their lives seem aspirational.
Whether it has to do with how they look, what they have or how much they travel the world, there’s something about their lifestyles that thousands of people seem to want. However, one important question doesn’t usually come up: How do they afford those lifestyles?
And for one German couple, the answer to that question has led to some serious backlash.
Since 2017, Catalin Onc and Elena Engelhardt have been documenting their adventures on Instagram.
Their account is known as ” another beautiful day ” and since its creation, they’ve amassed over 35,000 followers who presumably want to watch them travel the world.
And so far, the married couple from Germany has given them a lot to look at.
According to The Daily Mail , they’ve already made their mark on Indonesia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Australia.
And it appears that the newest trip they have in mind will be their most ambitious.
As the couple posted on GoFundMe , they’re planning to ride on a tandem bike from Germany to Africa and need the equivalent of $11,000 to make it happen.
Despite how popular they appear to be, however, their campaign has only raised about $225 so far.
And this isn’t due to a lack of attention as a trip to their GoFundMe page reveals all sorts of responses.
Unfortunately, these seem to be along the lines of “You both are lazy and disgusting” and “Really? Really? Travel bought with earned money is worthwhile. Your sponging is risible…”
This is because the couple recently revealed that all of their travels have been funded by Onc’s mother, who works two jobs.
As The Daily Mail reported , Onc said, “At this very moment, my mother is funding us, she works two jobs and has not much herself. We didn’t ask her for money but she loves that she is able to help.”
The couple also didn’t seem to impress fans when they shared why they didn’t have jobs of their own.
They said that there aren’t many jobs they’re qualified for, but they also made the vague statement that getting jobs would be “detrimental.”
They said they could make “fast money” by modelling, but don’t want to “advertise consumerism.”
It also doesn’t help that Onc and Engelhardt said the trip would raise awareness for mental health, but didn’t explain how.
Those who remained fans of them seemed confused about the connection between their trip and mental health, while those who had grown tired of the pair figured this was just another excuse.
As one commenter put it, “This just seems like an adventure and a fun trip for you both and it has no significant reason to help anyone else in any way.”
Some also felt that the supposed intention of the trip was undermined by the way their previous trips were funded.
As one person wrote, “Your mum works two jobs to pay for your trip, don’t you think that’s impacting her mental heath? It’s sad this isn’t all a joke, the self importance you have is ridiculous.”
Now it appears the backlash has been too much for the couple to handle.
Following the major hate they earned in response to their plea for fans to fund their latest travel efforts, Onc and Engelhardt appear to be taking a break from their social media account indefinitely.
A new post on the couple’s shared Instagram announced the news to their followers.
The post, captioned “Look within”, appears to have been written by Onc and explains that he will be stepping “away from social media for a little while” to do some “soul work.”
“Here it is. I am going on a walk. I will walk as long as I possibly can,” he wrote. “No sleep, No social media, No distractions.”
“Just me and my brain out there.”
Since posting the update two days ago, the couple’s fans haven’t exactly warmed back up to them yet.
“Try walking to a job interview,” one user commented on the farewell post, while another added, “Didn’t get any donations so they got to walk it to Africa now.”
However, I think out of all the comments, this one sums up our feelings the best: “If the hardest thing you have ever done is go for a walk, then I can imagine how earning a living like the rest of us must be so hard for you.”
Mic = dropped.
h/t: The Daily Mail .
