Recently divorced grandmother posted a video about how she can’t afford a home, and the internet is not as sympathetic as you’d expect

A woman who recently finalized her divorce has sparked a fierce debate online after sharing a video about her struggle to find affordable housing. The video, which was originally posted on TikTok by user @lydiann84 and later covered by Daily Dot, features the woman explaining her current situation while living in a temporary apartment. Her goal was to document the difficulty of finding stability, but the reaction has been far from universally sympathetic.

In the video, the woman describes the reality of the current housing market. She mentions that she left her husband and is now relying on a small apartment that her friends helped her secure while she searches for a more permanent home. She notes that rental prices in her area are currently ranging from roughly $1,200 to $1,800 a month.

Furthermore, she points out that homes she believes should be valued at around $120,000 are actually listed between $150,000 and $170,000. It is frustrating to see how these numbers create a barrier for people trying to start over, and it is clear that many people feel the same pressure.

It is a sentiment that hits home for a lot of people

“I’m just trying to get my life figured out again and find some stability,” she said. “Everything’s so f—ing expensive right now. And wages aren’t going up, but gas is going up, groceries are going up, utilities are going up, rent, and mortgages. Everything’s going up.”

The economic reality is backed up by data as well. As the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies noted in its America’s Rental Housing 2026 report, from 2001 to 2024, renter incomes rose just 9% in real terms while rents rose 30%. This gap explains why so many are struggling to keep up. The woman even mentioned that her “poor grandson” is so confused about Grandma’s apartment, highlighting how these financial stressors impact family dynamics and personal lives.

However, the response on X has been much more critical than one might expect. While some users identified with her struggle, many others turned their attention to her personal spending habits and the decision to air her financial business on the internet.

One user on X wrote that people “who pay to get nails done, live in upscale neighborhoods and have big SUVs” had no grounds to complain about finances. This kind of scrutiny is common when people share their lives online. It seems that when you put your personal struggles on a public platform, you open yourself up to people dissecting every part of your lifestyle. Other critics questioned the motive behind sharing such personal distress in the first place, arguing that some things are better handled in private.

Some users even pushed back on her assessment of the rental market. Several people dismissed her housing concerns outright, with one user saying that the rental prices she cited would be considered reasonable or even low in many parts of the U.S. It is interesting to see how location drastically changes one’s perspective on what constitutes an expensive rent payment.

Despite the backlash, there is a portion of the audience that supports her. These users say her video accurately reflects their own experiences with the rising cost of living and the difficulty of finding a home in the current market. For her part, the woman remains focused on her search. She mentioned that she had toured a house and was hopeful about the prospect, even though that specific deal eventually fell through.

“I don’t know. I just have to keep trying. But I can wish, right?” she said.