Travel influencer reveals she was left suffering from 'crippling anxiety and depression' after being subjected to immense hate for revealing she was childless and happy at age 37

A woman has admitted she suffered 'crippling anxiety' for months after getting attacked online by thousands of strangers over a post declaring she was 'never married' and had 'no kids' at age 37 alongside a euphoric solo-travel montage.

Emily Hart, now 38, has been a content creator for the past decade, with her Instagram feed showcasing the highlights of her adventures traveling 'solo' as a woman.

Notwithstanding the occasional troll, Emily was used to receiving generally positive feedback over the years.

So nothing prepared her for the overwhelming vitriol she received in response to a gleeful photo montage of her travels, which she shared in October, with text overlay that read: 'Age 37. Never married. No kids.'

Emily Hart, now 38, has been a content creator for the past decade, with her focus on encouraging women to embrace 'solo' travel

However, she admitted that her confidence was 'rattled' after 'months' of vitriolic backlash to a euphoric photo-montage in which she declared: 'Age 37. Never married. No kids'

After the horrific feedback finally cooled off, Emily penned an essay about the harrowing experience for Today.

As she explained, she'd initially planned to share the less-than-10-second post with a 'long caption,' explaining, among other things, how she hadn't exactly planned on never marrying or having kids by her late 30s - and how nonetheless she's 'not waiting on anyone or anything to live.'

'But I decided at the last minute after a glass of wine at the airport lounge that I didn't need to over-explain myself (famous last words, right?) and simply captioned the video with, "Just livin' life. Very happily,"' she continued.

By the next morning, she woke up to discover her post had been sent to the algorithmically-generated social feeds of 'millions' of Instagram users, 'and I woke up with hundreds of new comments, nearly all hurtful.'

'Hundreds of comments per hour telling me I was pathetic and cringey and that feminism had deluded me into believing I was happy,' she recalled of the response she received. 

'From primarily men, but also women, many with Bible verses and "kindness" in their bios, telling me every variation of "you will die alone" and "no one wants you anyway" that they could muster,' she explained, noting the hypocrisy of many of those voicing their hatred of her - or rather, whoever they'd imagined she was in real life. 

A huge number of comments boiled down to the same general message of, 'You'll die alone,' Emily described, as well as many mocking her appearance or telling her 'how sad her life is.'

'No kids, not married, and 37, just a big child with no responsibility and never done anything useful, pathetic cow,' read one.

Emily pointed out that many of the most cruel responses came from 'primarily men, but also women, many with Bible verses and "kindness" in their bios'

A huge number of comments boiled down to the same general message of, 'You'll die alone,' Emily described

'Sad. Something is wrong with her,' a second added.

'Another one trying to prove that she's happy inside,' a third seethed.

To this day, she's still receiving cruel messages and emails mocking her appearance, lifestyle and beyond.

'For months after the post, I was on edge whenever I opened Instagram. The app that makes up a large percentage of my livelihood had become something I feared,' Emily admitted, adding that she later told a mentor she thought she was having a 'crisis of confidence.'

'But soon, I realized the feeling I tried to minimize by describing as "on edge" was much more - it was crippling anxiety and, I'm able to see in hindsight, depression.

'I didn't sleep well for months. I had digestive problems, low energy, panic attacks, angry outbursts, and my skin started breaking out.

'I was gaining weight and finding any reason to stay home and isolate myself. I chalked it up to winter and the lack of sunlight, but it wasn't the lack of sun - I had broken,' Emily confessed.

Emily admitted that, while the response threw her into a state of 'depression,' she's since come out the other side and can 'realize the positives' of the viral post

While 'sharing her life with others' had in the past been a source of 'confidence,' now her life 'had been belittled to the point where I couldn't help but inadvertently take some of it on.'

Emily said she's been to all 50 states and nearly every US National Park 'completely alone,' and added that her 'entire brand online is about inspiring solo female travelers.'

But, she emphasized, she never meant to suggest that the way she's been living her life is the 'only or best way.'

She further admitted that while she tried to present a picture of strength to her followers, the backlash to her being proudly single and childless in her late 30s 'rattled' her.  

However, she's finally at the point where she can 'realize the positives' of the viral post: 'I have thousands of new followers, and many women have sent me messages that the reel I shared, did, in fact, inspire them.'

'So I'll keep sharing, but with a bit of a shield, for now… I don't want to lose myself again along the way.'