Kristen Doute is coming to the defense of her fiancé and baby daddy Luke Broderick against fans of The Valley who are accusing the first-time dad of being unsupportive of his postpartum partner in Season 3.
As The Ashley previously reported, Kristen and Luke welcomed their first child, daughter Kaia Lily, in June of last year. While Kaia’s birth wasn’t featured on the Bravo series, cameras picked up shortly after her arrival, capturing some unfiltered moments in Kristen and Luke’s new dynamic and, inadvertently, portraying Luke in a way that hasn’t gone over very well with a lot of fans.
Within the first two episodes, Luke seemed to make a less-than great impression on viewers by putting emphasis on the lack of intimacy in his and Kristen’s relationship after Kaia’s birth, even basically encouraging Kristen to get drunk during girls’ night so that she would come home and want to have sex with him. In another scene, Luke complained to his fiancée that he was “not allowed to have a hard time.”
“It’s not allowed to be hard for both of us, it’s only allowed to be hard for you,” he told Kristen during their first post-baby date night.
Fans also watched on a recent episode of ‘The Valley’ as Luke vented about his relationship issues to cast member Zack Wickham, with the new dad claiming that his actions were being “heavily scrutinized on a regular basis” by Kristen.
“Look, I’ve never had a kid before,” he later stated in a confessional. “I don’t know, I’ve never been with a woman through her pregnancy, birth, postpartum. This is all new to me and I know that this is a version of Kristen that hopefully won’t last.”
In a new interview with Decider, Kristen said “it’s crazy” watching some of her and Luke’s interactions from Season 3, as she now realizes they were “just not speaking the same language” at the time. The former Vanderpump Rules star also revealed that, in hindsight, she has more sympathy for Luke, especially after watching him open up and be so “vulnerable” with Zack.
“ … I want people to give Luke a little bit of a chance, because … I don’t feel like there are resources for the first-time dads,” Kristen said, after recognizing all of the “wonderful” moms who have provided that kind of support for her.
While Kristen admitted that she was “going through more” than Luke was in the months after Kaia’s arrival, she noted that Luke “was still going through a lot” himself.
“So, I just want everyone to kind of give him a little bit of a break,” she said.
Kristen went on to assure fans that she and Luke will not be participating in this “butting heads mentality” for the entirety of Season 3, though she isn’t promising that things will be smooth sailing, either.
“There will be some breakthroughs,” she said. “And as anyone knows, as a first-time parent, it is a roller coaster. So, it’s going to be, like, up-down, up-down, until we find our footing.”
New episodes of ‘The Valley’ air Wednesdays on Bravo.
Watch Kristen’s full interview below.
(Photos: Bravo; Instagram; YouTube)
