Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner Speak out After Facing Criticism for Daughter’s Photos

Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner are defending their decision to hide their 1-year-old daughter Baylah May‘s face in their social media posts. Amid some backlash to their tendency to coyly keep little Baylah’s face hidden or covered with hearts, the American Idol alums took a moment to open up about the importance of protecting their daughter’s privacy, something they indicated they have no plans to stop anytime soon.

In a Dec. 18 Instagram Story, Barrett candidly defended her and her husband’s decision. In a direct message to “the people constantly commenting on Baylah’s face being blocked out of pictures,” Barrett, according to Us Weekly, wrote, “She is our daughter.” She went on to explain that she and Foehner “will not purposefully take pictures with her face in them because we keep her face identity private.” Barrett said that by hiding Baylah’s face, she and Foehner are “protecting her from weird predators.” Barrett ended the message by asking her followers to “please respect how we’ve decided to protect our child.”

Since welcoming their daughter in January 2021, Barrett and Foehner haven’t shied away from documenting their lives as proud parents. They have, however, refrained from showing their daughter’s face. Throughout pictures of their family trips and quiet days at home, Baylah’s face has never been shown, aside from one post in February 2021. Instead, Barrett and Foehner have either snapped pictures of their daughter from behind, coyly angled the camera to keep Baylah’s face hidden, blurred her face out, or placed hearts and other drawings over her face to conceal her. That decision has led to some confusion and plenty of comments from fans. However, amid her defense of that decision, Barrett seems to have gained plenty of support.

On Tuesday, the American Idol alum took to social media to mark Baylah’s first birthday. Alongside a gallery of images and videos documenting Baylah’s first months of life, Barrett wrote in part that “it’s not possible to explain in words the love a mother has for her child. But being a parent, has made me appreciate my mother and father a whole lot more for what they did for my siblings and I.” She went on to promise that she will “defend and protect you always.”

Amid a flurry of birthday wishes for the youngster were several comments from followers applauded her decision to protect Baylah’s privacy. One person commented, “I love how you protect your her sweet face. You are an amazing parent,” with another person writing, “what you wrote is so beautiful and she is so blessed to have a mother like you!”