An Irish traveller has revealed her strict upbringing in her social media videos, explaining how she couldn’t go ‘anywhere without her brothers’ – after admitting her husband now pays for everything.
Kathleen McCann often shares insights into her life on TikTok and Instagram, where she has 424,900 and 56,500 followers respectively – including how her parents refused to let her have a phone or allow her to go out without a family member before the age of 17.
The married teenager, who turns 19 next month, said her strict childhood meant she wasn’t permitted to dye or drastically cut her hair, wear makeup, or have anywhere pierced other than her ears.
In a recent TikTok video, Kathleen said she won the strictest parents award, before listing everything she wasn’t allowed to do as a young teenager. She also explained how a ‘pro’ of being a traveller was that your significant other ‘basically pays for everything for you’.
Kathleen McCann (pictured) often shares insights into her life on TikTok and Instagram, where she has 424,900 and 56,500 followers respectively – including how her parents refused to let her have a phone until she was 16 or allow her to go out without a family member before the age of 17
The married teenager (pictured with her husband), who turns 19 next month, said her strict childhood meant she wasn’t permitted to dye or drastically cut her hair, wear makeup, or have anywhere pierced other than her ears
She said: ‘I never got a phone until I was nearly 17. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone that had a phone. I was 16-years-old when I put on make-up for the first time.
‘I was 17 when I first went anywhere without any of my family members. I was allowed to go nowhere without my brothers. Nowhere.
‘I was never allowed to stay away, ever. I never did dye my hair because I was never allowed, I was never allowed to cut my hair literally more than just the dead ends off. Any type of piercing besides the ear piercing is madness.’
In a recent TikTok video, Kathleen (pictured on her wedding day) said she won the strictest parents award, before listing everything she wasn’t allowed to do as a young teenager
The teenager (pictured) also explained how a ‘pro’ of being a traveller was that your significant other ‘basically pays for everything for you’
Kathleen married husband Dennis McCan, 20, last year and confessed he now pays for everything when discussing the ‘pros’ of being a traveller in an earlier video.
She said: ‘When you’re a girl, your family will basically pay for everything for you. Until when you get married, your significant other will.’
In another clip, she added: ‘A lot of us [girls] don’t even have an education let alone like, learn how to work.
‘That doesn’t mean we haven’t got life skills. Believe me, you learn life skills when people are putting you out of shops and staring at you up and down like there’s something wrong with you.’
Kathleen’s (pictured) videos offer an insight into her culture and have been viewed thousands of times and commented on by fans, as well as others who share a similar lifestyle
Kathleen married husband Dennis McCan (pictured together), 20, last year and confessed he now pays for everything when discussing the ‘pros’ of being a traveller in an earlier video
She continued: ‘They still learn how to clean, do washing, they still have basic life skills, cook.
‘They know how to survive, I suppose if they had to they would work, but they don’t have to so that’s the reason they don’t.’
Kathleen’s videos offer an insight into her culture and have been viewed thousands of times and commented on by fans, as well as others who share a similar lifestyle.
One person wrote: ‘I feel your pain. 17 when I got my first phone,’ while another added: ‘The struggle is real haha. Sick of my brothers now.’