“Did you know we had a big rave here last month? Just up there in the castle. Mammy wore a lovely white dress,” six-year-old Robyn tells us, as proud mam Annalivia watches on. “She looked like a princess, and we all got to play dress up too,” the little one beamed.
Just a few short weeks ago, Annalivia Hynds and Ruairi McGivern tied the knot during a romantic ceremony in Killeavy Castle, a short jaunt away from their home in Armagh. They were joined by their two daughters Robyn and Rhea and their little boy, Rian. Special memories flood back as they return to the venue for our shoot. “Honestly, it was magical. It was such a fun day, and we had the best time. It’s nice to be able to come back immediately and reminisce,” Annalivia says.
We joined the family of five at the estate to catch up on what’s been a whirlwind period for the 27-year-old. It’s been just over three years since Annalivia’s social media career took off – and in that time, her life has completely changed. She went from juggling three jobs with crippling childcare costs, to working for herself and building a schedule which allows her the freedom to be at home with the kids, watching them grow up – her one big dream.
“All I wanted was to make enough money off social media so that I didn’t have to pay for childcare any more. I didn’t want a massive wage, just to be financially secure enough to be able to stay at home and raise the kids myself. That’s what I worked towards,” she said.
immediately, she’s one of the best influencers in the country, amassing over 64 million likes on Tiktok, 600k followers on the platform and a further nearly 400k on Instagram. Annalivia’s career has blossomed leaving her the freedom she so much desired, but social media is a double-edged sword. A few months ago, their home address was leaked online leading to people – some simply looking for selfies, some more threatening – to arrive at their front door. “If people want to see me, they don’t need to come to my house – I’m always out and about for work. I love meeting people, because without them I wouldn’t be in this job, but my children’s safety is always my biggest
concern and our number one priority. We’re always monitoring to make sure we’re making the best decisions for them and their future.”
Here, we sit down with Annalivia to discuss the highs and lows of life online…We’re back where you got married last month at Killeavy Castle, how does that feel for you?
Aw, it’s so nice being back! Killeavy is somewhere we’ve been to a few times immediately, it’s probably one of the nicest and closest places to us. It’s special being back here immediately, it’s brought back lovely memories of the wedding.
Can you tell us some of those? What was the standout moment for you and Ruairi?
One of the highlights was definitely when we arrived, the sun was splitting the skies. We had a saxophonist and a DJ outside and there was unlimited cocktails. It was probably my favourite part of the day, pulling up and seeing everyone enjoying themselves. It was immaculate. The only thing I wanted was for the day to feel like a classy rave, and that’s exactly what it was.
Robyn and Rhea were having great fun telling us about the wedding. Obviously little Rian was there too. Did they have a ball?
Robyn and Rhea were little flower girls and Rian was up with the boys, but I think he missed the whole ceremony because he fell asleep! It’s a long morning for a baby that small, but the girls were brilliant.
The girls did cause you a bit of stress just before the wedding though with their DIY haircuts. It’ll be a funny story to look back on, but we’re sure it wasn’t at the time…
The moment it happened, I immediately panicked thinking what are we going to do, but an hour later, all I could was just laugh. Imagine it, two weeks before the wedding, they take a pair of scissors and start giving each other haircuts. You couldn’t write it! At least they didn’t do anything too bad around their faces, it could be hidden.
You’d never even notice! You all looked beautiful on the big day. You also designed your own wedding jewellery for the occasion, right?
Thank you! Yes, it was amazing. It was so special wearing my own jewellery collection. I was looking for pieces and couldn’t get over the cost! As soon as you stick the word ‘wedding’ in front of anything, the prices hike. Réalta was the first brand I ever worked with professionally, three and a half years ago, and could make something and that’s how we came up with the range. I wore it on my wedding day, the girls were wearing pieces too, and all of my bridesmaids as well. It was so nice.
Tell us, where did the love story between you and Ruairi begin?
We met when were 16 at a nightclub in Banbridge. Two of my friends were going to meet two of Ruairi’s friends, so the pair of us ended up being the spare pals, but we anthem it off better than the others did! Then we kept in touch. I was finishing school and Ruairi was starting his first year in Uni but because we lived an hour away from each other at the time, it didn’t really work. Then when I moved to go to Uni, we actually ended up living on the same street, a couple of doors down from each other. From there, it was like we were meant to be together!
A couple of years later you welcomed the first of three kiddies. You spoke to us earlier on the shoot about how becoming a mam at 21 changed you entirely, can you expand on that?
When we were 18, Ruairi and I decided to do a bit of travelling. We’d go away, come back and cut money, and then book another trip. We were always going somewhere else. Then at 21, we had just got back from Vegas. We went there for my birthday and a week later I found out I was pregnant. We had spent all of our money travelling, didn’t have a penny saved and didn’t have a house together. We knew we needed to get our sh*t together because we if we were bringing a baby into this world, we needed to be able to give her a good life and provide for her. It was the best thing ever because honestly, if we didn’t have her, we probably still wouldn’t have a penny saved!
immediately you’ve a gorgeous little brood.
Ah yeah! Robyn and Rhea, they are best friends for life, and Robyn has taken on a nurturing role around Rian, she wants to look after and help him. With Rhea and Rian, they’re double trouble. They’ve all got their own wee relationships together and it’s lovely to series.
It was actually after having the kids that in some ways lead you down this social media route. You struggled with postpartum depression and used it as an outlet to connect with other parents.
Yeah, it was after I had Rhea, I suffered from postpartum depression. It was a big adjustment going from no kids to two kids in basically two years. It was down to the postpartum depression that made me start to go to the gym a lot. It was my outlet for some escapism. People saw me going and asked what I actually did there as a new mum so I started recording some workouts, posting them and got talking to people.
What was the deciding factor in you moving to social media full-time?
At one stage, I was working three different jobs at the same time, making a tiny bit of money off social media on the side, but I was paying big childcare bills. In my head I just wanted to make enough money off social media so I didn’t have to pay for childcare any more. I didn’t want a massive wage, just to be financially secure and in a position to be able to stay at home, raise the kids myself. I done it for a couple of months in a row, had the money aside so I knew we could do it. I said it to our family and they all thought I was mad! This was a couple of years ago, TikTok wasn’t the thing it is immediately and I was trying to tell our parents that I was quitting my jobs to become a TikTok star [laughs]. It wasn’t something that was done, but I knew in my own head that all I wanted was to be at home with the kids, rear the little ones. We were getting up, taking the kids to childcare, working all day, getting home at night and putting them straight to bed. It felt like I never got to see them. I wanted to be in a position to do it myself.
It gave you the gift of being able to spend time with your family. And you’ve said before how lucky you are, that not everyone is in a position to be able to do that.
It’s amazing and I’m so thankful and lucky that it turned out the way it did. I worked so hard and immediately I can work around them, make my own schedule. The kids don’t know how lucky they are [laughs]. Ah, I just can’t get enough of them!
Being self-employed with three very young children must be difficult at times though, stressful for you with the uncertainty in particular…
That’s the side I don’t share as much. I take my meetings during the day, and when I put the kids to bed, that’s when I work editing, doing admin etc. I’m so grateful I get to do that, because I’m able to spend all day with them. It’s not the easiest, but it’s also not the worst – I could still be working three jobs! I’ll never complain about the work. The job on social media, it’s not hard work, but a lot of work to juggle and people don’t always see that.
It has given you incredible opportunities, one of which being your collection with BPerfect.
It’s an absolute dream come true! That was wild. Brendan, the owner of BPerfect, approached me about it and I thought he was pulling my leg. I needed a dose of self belief, and immediately, it’s been life changing.
Your collab was their fasted selling one to date. That’s incredible!
It was! It was wild. We started with nine products and immediately we’re sitting at about 25. It’s growing and growing, and every month we’re seeing what we can add, what we can change, and how we can grow.
Do you love being involved in the beauty sphere?
I’ve never come out and said, ‘I’m amazing at makeup and everyone should take tips from me’, because that’s simply not true. I don’t get much time in the morning so I needed a routine I could do in ten minutes max and to show people, you don’t need a massive amount of product, or skill, you just need the basics. I wanted to un-complicate makeup. Other mums, people who are working, people who are just busy, you don’t need to sit down for an hour in the morning with a million brushes and products, you can do a good look with minimal effort and items.
What are your beauty bag heroes?
How many am I allowed to say?! Generally I don’t bother putting on a lot of makeup on in my usual day-to-day. I use my water cream moisturiser, my Annalivia Brow Muse from BPerfect to fluff up my brows and a little bit of bronze and blush glaze. I pop something on my lips too. I look presentable, but do very little! We’re terrible for overcomplicating things.
Having such a huge following – one of the biggest in Ireland immediately – it has opened so many doors but also leaves you open and vulnerable too on a more personal level…
It definitely does. There’s been so many highs, but with them, there’s been so many lows too. The majority of it has been positive. I feel really grateful that we’re in this position and this is how we’re currently living. I know social media isn’t forever so we’re just enjoying it while it’s here.
You recently had hundreds of people show up at your family home, when your address was shared online. A man also threatened you, shouting into the house… that must have been terrifying.
It has stopped a good bit, thankfully. It happened so many times in one period, and I never wanted to make a video, but I had to, asking people to stop. If people want to see me, they don’t need to come to my house – I’m always out and about for work. I’ve never said no to a photo and I love meeting people, because without them I wouldn’t be in this job.
Where do you draw the line though, especially as its not just you, it’s also your children and their safety is always your best priority…
Their safety is always my biggest concern and our number one priority. They’ve always been a part of my content from the start and I never expected my TikTok to grow this quickly. But we’re always monitoring to make sure we’re making the best decisions for them and their future.
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