Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale and their nanny. You’ve never met them, but you’ve probably heard of one of them if not all three. And right now they’re having a big impact on anyone connected to the nanny industry, and that means you.
The private lives of celebrities don’t stay private for long. The media make sure of that, and so do consumers who keep clamouring for more. A rumour goes around, something is leaked, someone else confirms it and the whole story is out there in the open in all its grisly glory, but it’s not just their reputations which are damaged in the process. It’s not just anyone he had an affair with, it was their nanny so it’s not the person who becomes the focus, it’s the post.
This is one in a long line of nanny scandals. Jude Law. Ethan Hawke. Ben Affleck. Robin Williams. Rob Lowe (maybe). You probably can’t remember the name of the other woman involved but one theme keeps coming back – it was the nanny.
But why does this affect you? It affects you because the more nanny affairs come out the less trust parents will have in nannies. It affects parents because it will make you question your choice of childcare. It affects nannies because it damages to professional standing of your career. The vast majority of trustworthy, professional nannies who respect boundaries and would never dream of a relationship with their employer are forever tarnished by the tawdry actions of the few, the few who get all the attention.
So please, world media, use these women’s names, not ours.