An au pair says she had the receipt to prove the water bottle was hers, but the girl in her care in Spain kept accusing her for hours

A TikTok creator says her first job as an au pair in Spain quickly went sideways after a dispute with one of the children in her care. Brielle, who posts under the username @briellehardman, shared the experience in a video that has racked up over five million views.

The incident came to light through The Daily Dot. Brielle said she spent months searching for the right family before settling on one with two daughters, ages eight and nine, and signed a contract after a positive phone call.

She headed to Spain at the beginning of June, in what was her first time traveling to Europe, after spending a week with her brother in Italy. Brielle said everything initially seemed promising, and she even discovered that she and the father had mutual friends.

A room swap may have started it all

According to Brielle, one of the daughters had to move in with her sister so that Brielle could take over the older girl’s room. She believes this change was the source of their early friction, though the first week went relatively smoothly.

The situation soured over a water bottle, which Brielle says the girl repeatedly accused her of stealing. Brielle claims she had a receipt proving she bought the bottle herself, but the disagreement dragged on for several hours.

The family was not fluent in English, so they relied on phone translators and hand gestures to communicate. Brielle said the girl kept trying to spend time with her while she wanted space, until she eventually reached a breaking point.

“So finally, I should have never done this, but I was just like, ‘Out,'” she said, pointing toward the door. According to Brielle, the girl responded by threatening to tell her father that Brielle could not have dinner with the family.

Brielle said the water bottle incident was only the start of a series of difficult moments. She claims the father later yelled at her, which she felt made her relationship with the girls even more strained.

Many commenters were shocked to learn Brielle was earning just $75 a week, with several saying that would have been their cue to quit. One commenter shared a more positive experience, noting they were working for a family in France and loving it. The video circulated amid another viral clip of an influencer confronted in West Village.

According to Au Pair World, Spain has no official government regulations for au pair programs, so families and au pairs rely on private contracts to set working hours, duties, and pocket money. The recommended pocket money is at least 70 euros per week, with working hours generally around 30 hours per week.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the account, as it is based solely on @briellehardman’s video, and the host family’s side of the story is not known.