Just over a year ago, Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld were celebrated as one of the NFL’s most beloved power couples. Their romance, which began in May 2023, seemed to follow a fairytale script. A sunset engagement in Malibu during the Bills’ bye week in November 2024. A black-tie wedding at the exclusive San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito the following May. Then came the news that fans had been hoping for: the couple was expecting their first child in early March 2026, with Steinfeld confirming her pregnancy at the end of 2025.
Throughout this whirlwind period, Allen also captured his first NFL MVP award for the 2024 season. Life, it seemed, could not be better for the Buffalo Bills franchise quarterback. But as the couple has moved from announcing their pregnancy to documenting it, the public’s perception has begun to shift. What started as heartwarming has, for some fans, curdled into something far less appealing: performative oversharing.
The backlash began quietly at first. When Allen and Steinfeld posted a joint Instagram video in late 2025 showing the quarterback kissing her bare baby bump in the snow, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Steinfeld, wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the word “Mother,” looked genuinely happy as Allen cradled her stomach. It was intimate without being excessive, personal without feeling staged. Fans ate it up.
But two months later, Steinfeld released a new set of pregnancy photos through her Beau Society newsletter, and the tone of the conversation shifted dramatically. One image in particular drew the ire of social media users: a visibly pregnant Steinfeld sitting on a kitchen counter while Allen sat at a nearby table, both sipping coffee in what critics described as an overly posed scene.
“Omg the staged sip is corny,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), capturing a sentiment that would soon snowball into a full-blown online controversy.
Another commenter was far less restrained: “Get your dirty a– off the kitchen table.”
The criticism quickly escalated beyond mere mockery of staging. Some users questioned the tastefulness of the image itself. “No bro this is a very odd photoshoot,” one fan observed, while another went further, suggesting the pose was inappropriate for public consumption. “No man takes a picture of his wife in that position,” they wrote, explicitly comparing the kitchen snapshot to imagery from adult films.
The most pointed criticism, however, came from users who questioned the couple’s judgment and authenticity. “Who stages these things. So disingenuous and attention seeking,” one person wrote. Another took aim at Steinfeld’s decision to retain her maiden name professionally, asking, “What kind of man puts a picture like that of his wife on the internet? Are they even married? She can’t take his name? What, is she ashamed of him?”
The comment, while harsh, touched on a broader cultural debate about celebrity oversharing and the fine line between documenting joy and manufacturing content. For a couple that had previously kept much of their relationship private, the decision to release increasingly staged pregnancy content struck some fans as a misstep.
The Celebrity Pregnancy Industrial Complex
To understand the backlash, it’s worth examining the context in which these photos were released. Celebrity pregnancy announcements have evolved significantly over the past decade. What was once a simple press release or a single carefully staged photo has become an entire content ecosystem. From gender reveals to nursery tours to weekly bump updates, expectant celebrity parents are now expected to document their journey in granular detail.
Allen and Steinfeld are hardly the first couple to lean into this trend. But their particular approach—using Steinfeld’s personal newsletter as a delivery mechanism for increasingly intimate images—has struck some observers as trying to have it both ways. They want the authenticity of direct-to-fan communication while also maintaining the polished aesthetic of a professional photoshoot.
The kitchen counter photo perfectly encapsulates this tension. On one hand, it’s clearly meant to evoke the casual intimacy of a quiet morning at home. On the other, everything about the image—the lighting, the composition, the coordinated poses—screams professional staging. It’s the kind of photo that wants to look candid while being anything but.
For fans who have followed Allen’s career from his early days in Buffalo to his MVP season, this shift toward highly produced personal content feels jarring. The quarterback who once seemed like an everyman, a guy who just happened to have a rocket arm and a gift for extending plays, now appears to be fully embracing the trappings of celebrity coupledom.
What’s Next for Allen on the Field
While social media debates the appropriateness of pregnancy photos, the Bills are quietly undergoing significant changes. Head coach Sean McDermott was dismissed following a disappointing 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos, a move that signaled the franchise’s impatience with falling short of Super Bowl expectations. He has been replaced by offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who will now be tasked with building an offense around Allen that can finally break through in the postseason.
The transition won’t be easy. Buffalo carries over $10 million in cap debt into the 2026 season, meaning Brady and general manager Brandon Beane will have to get creative with roster construction. Key contributors may need to be replaced with younger, cheaper options, and the team’s Super Bowl window, while still open, requires careful navigation.
Allen himself is coming off a solid but not spectacular 2025 season. He threw for 3,668 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, numbers that represent a slight dip from his MVP campaign. A broken fifth metatarsal required foot surgery in late January, but the team expects him to be fully recovered in time for the start of OTAs on April 6.
The timing of Allen’s recovery is crucial. With a new offensive coordinator and significant roster turnover on the horizon, the quarterback’s presence during spring workouts will be essential for installing Brady’s system and building chemistry with whatever receiving corps emerges from the offseason.
Fatherhood Beckons
Off the field, Allen’s life is about to change in ways that no amount of MVP awards or playoff appearances could prepare him for. The couple’s first child is expected sometime around mid-2026, though conflicting reports have suggested a March due date. Whenever the baby arrives, Allen will join the ranks of NFL fathers, a fraternity that comes with its own set of challenges and rewards.
The transition to fatherhood often changes how athletes approach their careers. Some find renewed purpose and motivation, using their children as inspiration for late-night film study and early-morning workouts. Others struggle with the competing demands of family life and professional sports, particularly during the grueling NFL season.
For Allen, who has shouldered the hopes of a football-obsessed city for years, becoming a father may provide a healthy perspective. Football matters deeply in Buffalo, but it’s not everything. A child has a way of clarifying priorities.
The Court of Public Opinion
Whether the pregnancy photo backlash will have any lasting impact on Allen’s public image remains to be seen. NFL fans are fickle, and today’s controversy is often tomorrow’s forgotten footnote. But the criticism does highlight a broader truth about celebrity in the social media age: the more you share, the more you open yourself up to judgment.
Allen and Steinfeld built their brand as a couple on carefully curated glimpses into their lives. The engagement announcement. The wedding photos. The pregnancy reveal. Each installment was met with enthusiasm, creating an audience hungry for more. But that hunger cuts both ways. Once you’ve invited people into your home, you can’t easily show them out.
The kitchen counter photo may simply be a case of a couple trying to document a special time in their lives, unaware of how it would be received. Or it may represent a genuine miscalculation about what fans want to see. Either way, the response serves as a reminder that authenticity, once lost, is difficult to reclaim.
As Allen prepares for the 2026 season, he’ll have plenty on his plate: a new offensive coordinator, a restructured roster, and the small matter of becoming a first-time father. Whether he’ll adjust his approach to sharing his personal life remains an open question. But if the past week has taught him anything, it’s that sometimes the most powerful thing you can share is a little bit less.
