A 21-year-old woman has revealed she struggles to be taken seriously by other parents as a "mom" to her 15-year-old "daughter".
Kentucky-based TikToker Hunter Nelson, who goes by the username @hunternelson, shared her unique family situation on the platform, racking up millions of views in the process.
In one TikTok video that has amassed over 8.2 million views and 921K likes, a stunned Hunter captioned: "Me driving down the road am realizing I’m 21 with a 15-year-old."
She further added her concern about not being taken seriously by the high school staff or other parents, anticipating questions about her own school grade at school events.
Posted in 2021, this viral clip soon sparked a flurry of questions and comments from other TikTokers who were stunned how this was even possible.
One wrote: "I've never raced to the comments so fast" while another added: "U WERE SIX WHEN YOU HAD A BABY".
A comment on the post also read: "I hope this is satire cause it's not clicking for me", to which Hunter clarified: "I could've worded it better... I took guardianship of my sister!!"
Hunter was quick to clear the air, confirming in a follow-up video that she did not, in fact, give birth at six years old.
"I recently filed for guardianship of my sister a few months ago … I felt the best way to keep my sister safe, happy and to have all her needs and wants met was to come live with me," she explained.
Hunter went on to share that they lost their father in 2015, and Gracie, her half-sister from North Carolina, also tragically lost her mother soon after. With Gracie facing the risk of foster care following the death of her mother, Hunter bravely stepped in and petitioned for legal guardianship of the teen, a move she explains is "100% legal".
This decision, while in Gracie's best interest, triggered family tensions and even initial resistance from Gracie herself, however, she eventually agreed to the arrangement.
Hunter later got Gracie to appear in one of her videos after her followers were asking to see her, stating that she doesn't think they look alike despite sharing the same dad as she believes Gracie looks more like her late mom.
She also admitted in a follow-up video that there are both hard and easy days in being such a young guardian of a teenage girl, with some tough times making her feel like she wants to "pull [her own] hair out", but the frustration mostly comes from "trying to do everything" by herself rather than asking for help when she needs it.
Once Gracie turns 18, she will have the choice of whether to continue to stay with Hunter or to move out on her own as she will legally be an adult.
Despite it all, Hunter says she has absolutely no regrets in taking her sister on as her own.
