Like many YouTubers, Sarah and Chris Ingham rose to fame in the blink of an eye, with their family-based content. Find out what their journey was like, including the hurdles that have come up along the way.
Leaders of the Ingham Pack
Sarah and Chris Ingham started vlogging in 2016, and have won over more than a million subscribers with their content showing their family life in England with their four children.
"We started with a dream, and you guys made it a reality," they shared. They started as the Ingham Family of Five, but have since welcomed baby Jace, and have shared their lives with us ever since.
Family First
When Sarah and Chris aren't creating new vlogs or launching a new line for their online store, their main focus is spending time with their tight-knit family. The Inghams have three daughters, Isabelle, Esme, and Isla, as well as the youngest member of the clan, Jace.
The Ingham children have incredibly close relationships with each other and their parents since they spend so much time together. They've revealed that some of the family trips they take don't allow internet access, which has helped Sarah and Chris bond with their children on a deeper level.
World Travelers
For as long as they can remember, Sarah and Chris have loved exploring new places, especially with their children. "Travel is our passion and something we live for. We are a very fun-loving family who loves to visit new places at every opportunity we have," the family explained.
So, they've loved being able to share their travel experiences with their subscribers on YouTube while creating family memories. In addition to Sarah and Chris' public Instagram accounts, they've also created a separate page just to document the trips they've taken for fans to follow along their journey.
Rise to Fame
The first video that the Inghams ever uploaded to their YouTube channel was, "Sarah's 30th Birthday Surprise Weekend in London," in 2016. The video gave us a glimpse into the family's dynamic, and Sarah and Chris realized that vlogging could be a great opportunity for them since they already loved showing off their family adventures.
So, they started uploading more videos, and their number of subscribers began expanding rapidly. Every video that Sarah and Chris uploaded brought them more followers, and they noticed that they had an extremely loyal and loving fanbase, so they also started sharing their lives on Instagram.
Started Selling Ingham Family Merch
Once they'd established themselves on the internet and attained over a million subscribers on YouTube, Sarah and Chris thought it would be a fun idea to create an e-commerce site and sell all kinds of clothing and accessories. With their millions of subscribers on YouTube, they were able to reach a wide variety of buyers.
At first, the family received a lot of support form their fans. "I can't wait until I get all of your stuff because you are the best YouTubers ever," commented one subscriber. The merchandise line was a whole family effort, as they all promoted and posed for pictures in the clothing together.
Sold Dolls That Resembled Their Baby
Like any parents of a newborn, Sarah and Chris were extremely excited to introduce their youngest child, Jace, to the world as soon as he was born. Within weeks he already had his own Instagram account, filled with adorable photos of his first few weeks of life. However, that wasn't the only thing his parents created for him.
Sarah and Chris began selling dolls that were essentially lifesize replicas of baby Jace from when he was two weeks old. Each doll was sold for $340, and only 250 of them were produced. Fans were able to purchase them on maryshortle.com, and the special edition dolls sold out rather quickly.
Reaction to Ingham Family Selling Dolls
While many fans jumped at the opportunity to buy one of these dolls, which had been designed by Sarah and Chris' 10-year-old daughter, others were outraged. "I thought people selling themselves was bad, never mind selling a baby," one viewer commented.
"The Ingham family are part of the many people that define everything that's wrong with this place," said another viewer. Countless followers couldn't seem to understand why this family wanted to make a profit off of replicas of their own child, and these people were not afraid to speak out about it.
Chris and Sarah Explained the Backstory Behind the Doll
After receiving so much hate and confusion about the dolls they were selling, the Inghams addressed the situation on YouTube. "It's absolutely beautiful. But it's not a mimic or a copy or a mold of our baby boy, Jace," Chris and Sarah explained. "It's just a doll... to represent the birth of our baby boy, Jace."
"This baby reborn that we've got right here has been hand-painted to represent what Jace looked like at the first time we went to Mary Shortle," Sarah added. "That does not mean that it has been a mold of him or a replica of him." They also explained that the doll's body was nothing like Jace's; It was made like any other doll.
Left 4-Month-Old Alone at the Beach
While the Inghams were enjoying a family vacation in Spain, they shared much of their trip on social media, and one particular event caught many of their subscribers' attention. They left their 4-moth-old baby by himself on the beach, which sparked mixed reactions from viewers.
"So while Jace is strapped in his sleep fast asleep, we're getting some rare five seconds of family time right now in the sea," Chris said in a YouTube video. Neither Chris nor Sarah felt they were being irresponsible, as they said they had eyes on Jace the entire time while he rested in the shade.
Viewers Critisized Their Parenting
Many subscribers were disturbed by this event. "The Ingham family left their 4-month-old baby unattended on the beach while they all went swimming in the sea. Who the f is that irresponsible?" commented one person. "It takes seconds for someone to snatch a child."
"They are f---ing up so much right now. That baby could have been taken so quickly, and they couldn't have gotten back to the shore in time," commented another viewer. "I am baffled." Chris didn't care what other people thought, and he didn't hesitate to snap back at the negative commentary.
Chris Denied Leaving His Son Alone
"There was absolutely no instance where Jace was 'left on is own in a tent on the beach,'" said Chris. "And at no point was there any danger or neglect of Jace whatsoever. We were in the water for no more than a few minutes... Jace was in complete sight the entire time."
Chris also explained that the type of camera they used to film the video "distorts distance and makes things look much further away from the camera than they actually are." After responding to many viewers' comments, the Inghams removed the controversial video from their YouTube channel.
Sarah Told People to Mind Their Own Business
"People need to mind their own business to be fair and stop criticizing others," said Sarah. "Why do people have to make make and criticize people for everything they do, literally?" She was frustrated that people were making claims about her husband's parenting, as well as butting in when she didn't care for anyone's opinions.
Sarah and Chris had created their YouTube channel to share fun family experiences with their fans and give their children a way to look back on incredible memories later on. So, she couldn't understand why viewers felt that it was acceptable to publicly judge her family.
Perks of YouTube Stardom
Since the Inghams launched their YouTube channel in August of 2016, they've caught users' attention across the world. Their rapidly growing popularity from their early vlogging days allowed the family to receive sponsored vacations and access to some VIP events.
For instance, a few years ago, the entire family took a trip to the capital, sponsored by Sony Pictures. Their only requirement was to promote the film Hotel Transylvania 3: Monster Vacation. Sarah and Chris have always been passionate about traveling and exploring, and their online popularity has helped them do more if it.
Resurfacing the Past
After the Inghams deleted the video of Jace on the beach, they'd hoped things would settle down. However, some people used this incident to bring up past events that had drawn negative attention to the family. Before Jace was born, Chris had been accused of sending inappropriate messaged to young female fans.
"Things were calming down, people were backing off, then the stupid video yesterday and showing you left the baby on the beach alone, you blew it," a follower tweeted. This tweet, along with a few others, put the spotlight on Chris yet again, and the family couldn't escape the allegations this time.
The Inappropriate Messages
One particular fan, who was 19-years-old at the time, claimed that Chris had responded to a selfie she posted on social media, and his comment made her feel uncomfortable. She said that he replied, "Drop that towel and re-send," and he told her he could make her a star.
16-year-old Jess Simpson was another fan who spoke out about receiving inappropriate messages from Chris. Simpson explained that she'd met Chris while she was on vacation with her parents in Florida. She was excited to meet him and take a picture with him, but that was all she'd wanted.
Chris Wanted to Meet Her
Simpson explained that later in the night, she received several text messages from Chris, asking her to sneak out of her family's hotel room and meet up with him. "If you can sneak out without waking anyone, then deffo come meet me," Chris reportedly texted Jess.
"I was a big fan of the channel, so I was really happy to meet up with him and his family when we were on holiday," Jess explained. "It wasn't until he began asking me if I was alone and that he was going to come round 'for a party' that I began to feel scared and that it was creepy."
Fans Began Speaking Out
After Chris told Bella Fearn, the 19-year-old whose selfie caught his attention, how she "was gorgeous," and "he loved her pictures," she felt uncomfortable but didn't know how to handle it. "He is a massive star, and I was afraid of speaking out," Fearn explained.
"But when I saw Jess's messages and the other women coming forward, I knew I had to," she added. She wanted others to understand how Chris had made her feel. "When you watch his videos, he seems lovely, and a family dad, but these texts just prove he's a total creep," Bella explained.
Addressing the Accusations
After many accusations of having inappropriate relations with teenage girls, Chris stayed silent for a while, as his lawyers had advised him not to speak on the matter. But eventually, he addressed the accusations on his YouTube channel. "A lot of people have wrongly jumped to so many conclusions about me," he said.
He explained that people "wrongly and ignorantly labeled me as so many things." After numerous young women spoke about their experiences with Chris, he claimed they had "twisted so much and made so many presumptions that are completely wrong and disgusting."
Denied All Allegations
After all of the public accusations against Chris were made, he continued to deny them, no matter how many people spoke against him. "Have I ever done anything that could be classed as sexually grooming somebody? No... Of course, I haven't," he said. "And now enough is enough."
Chris and Sarah stood firm on their stance and tried to tune out all of the drama. They even turned off the ability for people to comment on some of their videos, so they could give their side of the story without more of their viewers' input. In the end, they claimed that they were the ones suffering.
Inghams Claimed They Were the Victims
In one of their YouTube videos, Sarah and Chris explained that they'd been victims of bullying and harassment throughout their journey as YouTube stars. "We have been the victims of some of the most severe, disgusting hate online for a long time," said Chris.
"To the point where it just absolutely blows your mind, the kind of stuff that people say about you online." Chris also revealed, "It's gotten so serious now that we've had to recently involve the police, who are now dealing with the people that are doing this most severely and frequently."
Chris Called Out the Haters
In one of the Ingham Family's YouTube videos, called, "This Needs to Be Said," Chris addressed the channel's haters directly; "No matter how anonymous you might think you are with your fake accounts, fake names, none of you are untraceable," he said.
"You're very much not anonymous at all," Chris added. "It only takes one email, one tweet... to be classed as malicious communication... and it carries a jail term." Sarah also gave her input, saying, "It's so sad that the internet is so full of negativity nowadays and people who just thrive on drama."
Living in Fear
After all of the allegations against the Ingham family, Chris and Sarah claimed that they were "constantly living in fear." Eventually, their address was leaked, adding to their concern; So, the worried family decided to sell their home and put their children in a new school to avoid any more drama.
"We aren't robots. We're not some sort of superhumans that don't have feelings," Sarah added. "How would you feel if every single day everything you did was literally being ripped to shreds? And sadly, it's only going to get worse with the way some of you adults seem to think it's acceptable to behave."
Inghams Visited By Social-Services
Between the negative commentary about the baby Jace Doll, leaving Jace on the sand alone, and Chris' accusations from teenage girls, many people have tried to take the Ingham Family down. Sarah and Chris revealed that they'd received multiple calls from social services, as people had reported their parenting methods.
"I don't understand how you guys can't feel bad for wasting such a valuable service when there are so many children out there," said Sarah. She and Chris claimed that the social-services representatives that called them only did it because they were required to - not because they were concerned about them as parents.
Dropped by Management Company
Since the Ingham Family became so popular so quickly, they hired a management company to handle their public relations and other significant matters. However, when the scandals they were involved in started surfacing the internet, the company, Viral Talent, cut ties.
"Due to a number of recent inquiries and comments, we wish to clarify that as of 4th of July, Viral Talent ceased to manage The Ingham Family," Viral Talent tweeted in July of 2018. This came shortly after numerous teenage girls accused Chris of harassment.
Net Worth is $1.1 Million
As of February 2020, according to Naibuzz, the Ingham Family had a net worth of $1.1 million. With 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube, the family brought in over 500,000 page views. Most of their income was generated through advertisements in their videos, especially when they were posting every day.
This means that the Ingham Family was earning approximately $1000 per day, according to Naibuzz. Sarah and Chris also accumulated some cash through their online store, The Ifam Store, where they sold a wide variety of clothing and accessories, inspired by their own children.
Accused of Using Their Children for Money
"It's so frustrating and so irritating when we constantly hear... 'you guys are using your children for money, it's disgusting how parents use their kids for money,'" said Sarah. She explained that many YouTube families experience these accusations, but it is so far from the truth.
"We have been incredibly lucky," Sarah added. "We've worked hard, and we've been given an opportunity that is so so rare to come by." She then pointed out that she and Chris don't wear expensive clothing since they don't spend their earnings from YouTube on materialistic things.
Each Child Makes a Profit
After Sarah explained that she and Chris would never use their children to make a profit, she said they spend most of their money on family vacations, so they can make memories with the kids. She said that every penny earned from each child's Instagram account or product goes into a trust fund for that child.
"Not that it's anybody else's business, but any profit we make from the sales of this baby Jace doll goes into Jace's fund that we set up for him before he was even born, and it will be there for him when he turns 18," explained Sarah. "The same way that we have for the three girls.
Ingham Family Merch Took a Hit
The Ingham Family has certainly experienced some ups and downs since launching their YouTube channel in 2016, especially with the merchandise they started selling. Eventually, the company shared, "Due to the closure of the Ingham Family webstore, some orders have faced delays."
"Is there any way of returning and getting a refund on Ingham Family merch? I really don't feel comfortable supporting Chris right now," a former fan tweeted. "My heart breaks for the girls; It's not just as simple as 'He's done this, leave him.' I wish the girls all happiness, but I can't support Chris anymore."
Accusations That Sarah's Pregnancy Was a Cover-Up
When Sarah announced that she was pregnant with her fourth child, who turned out to be baby Jace, not all of the family's fans were supportive. Some suspected that she made the announcement to cover up the drama that resulted from Jace being left on the beach.
"Honestly, cannot be the only one who thinks it's so dodgy that Sarah finds out she's pregnant... tells EVERYONE without even having a doctor confirm it or a scan?" someone tweeted. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy for Sarah... But I feel like her being pregnant is now a big distraction from the allegations," another user shared.
Why They Started Vlogging
"When we started this journey on YouTube, it used to be such a fun and positive thing," Chris revealed. He and Sarah explained that their entire family looked forward to creating each video together, and it turned out to be an incredible creative outlet for them all.
It was once "something that we absolutely used to thrive on doing, creating memories, and being able to capture them so that we could watch them back with the girls one day." Chris explained that, more recently, YouTube has sparked a lot of negativity towards their family.