Bachelor Nation first met Amanda Stanton when she was a contestant on Season 20 of The Bachelor, competing for the heart of Ben Higgins.
Following her time on the Bachelor, Amanda joined the cast of Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, where she met and became engaged to Josh Murray (Bachelorette Andi Dorfman‘s former fiance). Sadly their engagement only lasted about six months.
A few months later, Amanda was invited back for Season 4 of Bachelor in Paradise, where she seemingly found love with Robby Hayes (one of Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher‘s rejects), but that relationship, too, fizzled after just a few months.
During her time as a citizen of Bachelor Nation, Amanda has been very open about sharing her life with her million-plus followers on social media. She has been very candid about everything in her life, from her relationships to her health to single parenting and everything in between.
And if you’ve been following Amanda, you’ll know that up until her recent marriage to new husband Michael Fogel, she was a single mom to two daughters, Kinsley and Charlie.
(Who can ever forget the Beach Day from Hell, when poor Ben took Amanda and her two then-toddlers for a beach picnic, and both girls, exhausted from so much activity and lack of naptime, wailed in the back seat of the car all the way home?
Before her divorce, Amanda was married for three years to her girls’ father. While she’s never spoken much about her daughters’ dad, she’s offering some advice to other single parents, as reported by the Bachelor Nation official site.
After being asked if her girls have a different last name than Amanda, she said, “Yes! I am not saying this to throw shade or be petty, I promise, I just feel like what I’m about to say is really important. If you’re single, dating, or anything but happily married — write YOUR last name on the freaking birth certificate!”
Amanda continued, “It’s very annoying being the one to be pregnant, give birth and do everything for them while having a different last name from them. Learn from my mistakes.”
I understand where she’s coming from. Having worked at a private school on an earlier career path, I know how confusing it can be for everyone involved when a parent has a different name than a child.
Both parents and children are constantly having to explain, “My child/parent has a different last name than I do.” And traveling with a child with a different last name can be difficult, especially in these days of heightened security checkpoints. It’s hard to prove a child really belongs to you, unless you have something with both your last names on it.
Now that Amanda‘s married again (she and Michael tied the knot on September 2, 2022), I’m pretty sure the birth certificates of any future children will show her maiden name — or at least a hyphenate of her maiden and married names. Life lesson learned.
TELL US- DO YOU AGREE THAT MOTHERS SHOULD PUT THEIR MAIDEN NAMES ON CHILDREN’S BIRTH CERTIFICATES? IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, DOES YOUR CHILD (OR CHILDREN) HAVE A DIFFERENT NAME THAN YOU DO AND HAS THIS CAUSED YOU ANY PROBLEMS?
[Photo Credit: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Greg Mathis / Judge Mathis]
