She initially began her social media journey as Losing Ellie’s Belly and documented her weight loss, but her brand has since changed and has gone from strength to strength. First rebranding as a self-love page and now, with her husband, they run the business Abeille Candles, which has its own popular Instagram page.
The two Instagram pages have over 100,000 followers combined and while it’s an achievement she is endlessly proud of, Haines reveals it comes with its challenges.
Taking It’s A Date podcast host Lillie Rohan to New York, Haines shares how her recent business venture has seen both her and her husband receive unprovoked hate, including an email that said “your wife is a fat b*****” and goes on to share how they handle those nasty messages as a couple.
Does online hate impact your relationship?
Haines says her husband Brett hates social media, “he’s extremely private,” she says, so when the two started their business and decided to share behind-the-scenes snippets as a way to build a relationship with their customers, he started being pulled “into a lot of the negative things that can happen on social media.”
The couple has been together for five years and tied the knot in February with Haines saying their relationship has always been easy, which is why it’s no different when it comes to handling people sharing their opinions about it online.
“You do get trolls and stuff, but the positives outweigh that and the real wonderful community I’ve created on there, they’re an awesome bunch of people. So I just need to keep remembering that I’ve got a cool family online, and that’s all that matters.”
What is a green flag for you?
“I think a green flag for me is how they talk about their family and previous relationships,” Haines says. “Of course, we’ve all had bad relationships, but depending how they speak about an ex-partner, I think it can show who they are as a person in a very different way, and the way they talk about their family.”
But she says there is one major green flag that stands out to her.
“I love a man that loves their mum and respects their mum. That to me is just the biggest green flag ever and it is just so sexy.”
What moment from your wedding day would you recreate?
Haines has been open with her followers about her wedding, sharing a multitude of beautiful photos from the day and even discussing how she and her husband’s different faiths played a part in how they approached the ceremony.
But like anyone who has experienced such a magical day, there is always one moment that you can’t help but look back on with utter fondness and wish you could relive.
To hear what moment Haines would relive, listen to the full It’s A Date podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are out every Thursday.
