An Aussie Bachelor star has left fans divided after recalling an incident at a local footwear store she was shopping at with her mother and toddler daughter.

Irena Srbinovska, 36, who rose to fame on the dating show in 2020 alongside now-husband Locky Gilbert, explained that the trio were shopping for shoes when her toddler, Ava, picked them up and had them in her hands, which seemingly made the shop assistant annoyed. 

She said she told Ava to put the pair of shoes down, and Ava said ‘no’, then the shop assistant grabbed the shoes and told her off, before waving in her face.

Srbinovska said she was left feeling “really uncomfortable” over the incident and “like we were being kicked out of the store”.

“I was just at a local shop with my mum and Ava. And it was a footwear store. And Ava had grabbed two shoes off the sale rack and was handing them to my mum, for my mum to try on,” Srbinovska explained in an Instagram video. 

“And I was like, ‘Ava just put them back’. And she was like, ‘no’. And the store lady snapped them off her and said, ‘I will take them off… from you.’ She was like “bye bye,” [sternly] and did that to Ava [waved]. 

“I don’t know how I feel about it. I felt really uncomfortable and I felt like we were being kicked out of the store for my toddler holding two pairs of shoes. She wasn’t doing anything with them,” she said. 

She added to fans that she wanted their opinion on the matter, saying: “What are your thoughts on strangers telling your child off, even when they weren’t really doing anything?”

She added in her caption: “For context, my 2.5 year old wasn’t being naughty, she was simply holding a pair of shoes at a local shoe store. I had told her to put them back as I was ready to leave the store. She said “no” and started walking towards my mum to give them to her when the store lady snatched them off her.”

One person replied underneath that no one should tell off a stranger’s child. 

“The answer is very simple. NO a stranger should never ever tell your child off. No excuses….no exceptions. I hope you had a nice day regardless of that woman.”

“That’s terrible,” another added. 

“The shop assistant was totally out of line. She belittled you and Ava. So sorry it happened,” another said. 

“The way she said ‘bye bye’ is so rude. I would of said something back to her,” another wrote.

“So inappropriate of the sales lady,” another said. 

But others took the shop assistant’s side. 

“I’ve had children grabbing $180 sunglasses and walking around with them on … I do ask them to put them back as they are expensive and I’m sure mummy doesn’t want to pay for them if they get broken …. Parents should treat stock with respect and not let the children touch … Its just good manners,” one user quipped. 

Another added: “I own a store.. and you wouldn’t believe the amount of parents letting their children free range in the store and leaving an utter mess behind for staff to clean up. I’m a mum.. at home it’s the constant clean up after the kids. Perhaps put yourself in her shoes, she may just had enough that day… children should be kept close and not carry / play around in a store with items. Those items are pricey and displayed to be sold, not played with.”

“How about telling your kids not to touch anything in any store like I used to or better still, go shopping without them!” another said.

Srbinovska rose to fame on The Bachelor Australia back in 2020, where she fell in love with now-husband, Locky Gilbert. 

They married in March 2023. 

Last month, the pair announced their pregnancy news and revealed to fans that they’re expecting their second child, a rainbow baby, the term used to describe a pregnancy after loss. 

“Our hearts are so full as we share that our family is growing. After everything it took to get here, this little life feels like the most beautiful gift,” Srbinovska wrote in part of a joint post with her husband.