She’s married to a former James Bond. She’s a successful journalist, author, television host, producer and more. But this wasn’t enough to stop a cruel social media troll trying to make Keely Shaye Smith the butt of one of their jokes this week.
Keely, who is married to Mamma Mia! star Pierce Brosnan, found herself, perhaps unexpectedly, in the spotlight earlier this week after someone on X (formerly Twitter) decided to take aim at her looks.
Despite the cruel attempts at mocking Keely, she’s the one who has had the last laugh – and it’s restored our hope in humanity.
The social media post shared two images of James Bond actor Pierce alongside Keely, decades apart.
Despite the pair looking utterly glamorous on the red carpet in both, the caption for the post read, “Your daily reminder to avoid marriage.”
The intention, disappointingly but not utterly unexpectedly from an account which describes itself as “campaigning against misandrist educational institutions who failed men”, was to highlight the changes in Keely’s appearance over their 20-year marriage.
Scrutinising a woman’s body and expecting them to simply not change or age is nothing new – and it’s often much more intense for women in the public eye.
Madonna has been battling ageist critics for many years now, and Hollywood actress Andie MacDowell has had to speak out against her grey-hair haters.
So while this troll’s attacks on Keely might feel oh-so depressingly familiar, the reaction has actually given us hope.
Social media users fought back at the mocking post in their tens (if not hundreds!) of thousands – and some of the reactions are simply priceless.
One hilarious response read, “Avoid marriage because *checks notes* you and your wife will continue to be hotter and happier than ever, got it.”
Another added, “Men be like ‘avoid marriage’ and it’s just a hot younger woman who has turned into a hot older woman.”
More iconic responses included, “Avoid marriage because your wife may get progressively hotter is an INSANE take” and “Yeah, avoid marriage so you barely age a day in 20 years and your body looks hotter than ever.”
Outside of the praise for Keely, some of the responses made sure to spotlight the couple’s enduring commitment to one another.
Someone wrote, “Using a couple who famously cannot get enough of each other after 22 years as the example? Yeah… avoid marriage” and it sums up the beautiful history of Pierce and Keely’s relationship.
Pierce and Keely married in 2001 after meeting in 1994, and are parents to two sons: Dylan Thomas, and Paris.
Pierce has been very vocal about how his marriage to Keely essentially saved him, after losing his first wife, Cassandra Harris, to ovarian cancer, and all but giving up on hope as a result.
As quoted in a recent article by People, Pierce told Closer magazine in 2018 that he was “lucky enough to find love again” with Keely.
“We were meant to find each other. I thank God for her every day,” he said. “When Keely looks at me, I go weak. I love her vitality, her passion. She has this strength that I wouldn’t be able to live without.”
Last year, Pierce shared a sweet post online for their wedding anniversary, declaring he would “do it all again.”
Taking to Instagram, he wrote, “Happy Anniversary my love Keely, we danced that night and still dance the dance today.”
“I could do it all again.”
