While adopting a child and giving them a loving home is often seen as a noble act, Millie Bobby Brown and her husband Jake Bongiovi’s decision to take that path sparked a very different reaction.
The couple, who reportedly adopted their second child recently, were told by an X user, “Under 25 isn’t an age to be a mom/dad. Go live for later so you don’t end up regretting it and turn into a bitter person.”
For the Stranger Things star, though, adoption has been one of her “childhood dreams.”
She, however, has clarified that she hopes to have biological children one day.
Millie Bobby Brown shared a hint at her growing family in an Instagram post
People broke the news of Brown and Bongiovi welcoming their second child through adoption on Thursday, September 17.
The outlet cited a source before pointing to a September 7 social media post by the actress that seemed to hint at the news.
In a video documenting a family trip to the Dolomites mountain range in Italy, Brown was seen holding her daughter while Bongiovi walked alongside her with a baby carrier strapped to his chest.
The view of their new addition was obscured as the duo had their backs toward the camera.
Brown and Bongiovi announced that they had welcomed their first adopted child, a daughter, in August 2025.
“We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy,” they wrote at the time.
Neither the baby’s name nor face has been made public yet.
The couple faced backlash over welcoming another adopted child so soon
“She’s 22, and he’s 24, and they have 2 kids already? That’s a recipe for a failed marriage,” a netizen said.
“Babies don’t get the best from their parents when the age gap is so little,” added another.
“Celebrities think having babies is easy. Wait till reality sets in,” voiced a third, while a fourth noted, “Celebrities buy, they don’t adopt.”
“We tried to adopt for 20 years, and unfortunately it never happened because we were average citizens,” the latter complained.
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Several, meanwhile, asked Brown and Bongiovi to “seek professional help,” with one calling their decision to adopt back-to-back “mental illness of some kind.”
Millie Bobby Brown shared on a podcast that age was never a concern for her and her husband
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Appearing on the SmartLess podcast in March 2025, Brown shared that her mom and dad became parents very young — at 21 and 19 respectively — inspiring her own desire for early parenthood.
She also said she has always envisioned a large family, as both she and Bongiovi grew up as one of four siblings.
On adoption, she said, “I don’t see having your own child as really any different as adopting.”
Brown, on a separate occasion, recalled that even as a child aged 5 or 6, her baby dolls were always adopted rather than biological.
“I never pretended I was pregnant,” she shared.
Brown has clarified that she hopes to have children of her own someday
Brown, during a June 2026 appearance on Not Gonna Lie With Kylie Kelce, shared that she learned about both adoption and giving birth to her own child while studying social work.
“Hopefully that is in my future,” she said about carrying a kid.
During the episode, she also described becoming a mother as a life-changing experience, comparing it to “going from black and white to color.”
She also spoke about parenthood in a June 2026 UNICEF video, which the charity shared on Instagram.
In it, the actress said she and Bongiovi have a parenting motto, which is to “take it one day at a time.”
Fans congratulated the couple after news broke that they had become parents for the second time.
“Lots of love and blessings to them,” one said, while another added, “It shouldn’t matter how you have a child as long as they’re raised with love and care.”
“We need to start normalizing adoptions,” a netizen said
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