Jon Reyes: Canadian Politician Wife Shoveling Snow Photo Goes Viral

A photo a Canadian politician, Jon Reyes, posted of his wife Cynthia shoveling snow has gone viral, and it’s causing controversy.

The photo was posted by Reyes on January 8, 2022, on Twitter. It’s still there, but Cynthia Reyes has slapped back, writing that she wanted to shovel the snow. On Twitter, Jon Reyes describes himself as “MLA for Waverley, Minister of Economic Development and Jobs, former small business owner, Family Man, Proud Veteran, Winnipegger, Manitoban & Canadian.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Jon Reyes Wrote That His Wife Had Just Worked a ’12-Hour Night Shift’ Before She Started Shoveling Snow

“Even after a 12 hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast,” Reyes wrote with the photo.

The tweet has more than 44,000 likes. Reyes quickly became the subject of criticism and memes.

Reyes wrote in another tweet that his wife’s name is Cynthia. The couple have two children.

His wife responded with her own tweet, writing, “All I wanted to do was shovel!”

Cynthia Reyes Wrote a Lengthy Explanation on Facebook, Saying She Wanted to Shovel Because It’s a ‘Great Workout’ & Helps Her Unwind

On her Facebook page, Cynthia Reyes wrote a lengthy explanation:

Sorry in advance for this long winded post:

But as most of you know, I just wanted to Shovel! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Wow it’s been a whirlwind of a weekend! Who would have known that my husband’s tweet about me shovelling our driveway after my nightshift would have gone viral? 😳

Today, we were being asked for TV and radio interviews by many major media outlets around the world, but we declined as I want to make sure that people know directly from us what this entire experience has been like so far. Also, we’ve had many people concerned and asking how we are doing.

What people should know is that I came home from a 12 hour night shift at the hospital, it was a good night which lately as you can imagine hasn’t always been the case for myself and my Nursing colleagues. As I drove home, it’s my time to decompress, I arrived home before anyone was awake, after all it was a Saturday morning.

As I pulled up to my driveway, I felt energy to shovel the snow that fell all night and into the morning. As many Manitobans and Canadians know, it’s a great workout, it allowed me to unwind, it’s refreshing after having worn an N95 mask almost the entire night, the weather was mild and it was quiet and peaceful. Also, for all the people including us who are concerned about climate change, this is good for the environment, hence we don’t need a snow blower! Most importantly, I enjoy it. Jon heard me shovelling, it actually woke him up and he was surprised and impressed to see that I had energy after a long shift to do this, so he took a pic, made breakfast and posted, and the rest is embedded in social media history forever!

For people that know us, Jon does not work the typical 5 days a week but often 6 or 7 days in a row and easily well over 10-12 hours a day. Yes he watched Tennis until early in the morning, but the fact is he often prepares and reads late at night and over the weekend, so it doesn’t surprise me that Jon being a huge sports fan just stayed up in the wee hours of the morning to watch our Canadians play in the ATP Cup in Australia.

To us as a family we share different chores not based on any gender; but mostly on who is available to do it. I’d also like to mention that I dusted off the snow on my daughter’s car too that morning, and why not? As that is what our family does. We take initiative and do nice things for one another. It’s the way we roll, Jon loves cooking and I love shovelling and vice versa, it’s really not a big deal! We all live busy lives and we have to get things done. We want to teach our kids hard work and responsibility. It’s a must in life and that is why we are able to be productive in all of the things that we want to do.

That brings me to the fact that this tweet probably would not have gone viral if the gender roles were reversed, or if my husband were not a politician. I just wanted people to know that when a person enters politics, the whole family does as well. You live under a microscope, you may lose friends and your family will make sacrifices. We were made aware of that going into it, but you don’t know the magnitude of what it is like unless you live through and experience it. This is not easy for anyone. All for trying to do your job to make a difference, make positive change, to serve others and add a pandemic to that!

So, there are a few things that I would like you take home from our experience. First of all, don’t believe everything that you read or hear about in social or mainstream media; secondly, read past the headline; and to know the whole story before passing judgement. ⚠️

That is why I chose to write this, to directly share with those who are interested in knowing us and knowing the entire truth. I haven’t really poked my head into the world of Twitter for a while as it is not my favorite, and I was reminded why this past weekend. It is a reminder of how social media can blow things out of proportion and negatively affect many users. Thankfully Jon and I have pretty thick skin, but for those who are young and impressionable, or those who are suffering from mental health issues, or are being cyber bullied, I cannot imagine being exposed to such a toxic environment regularly. As a society we have to do better. We all need to promote kindness, decency, understanding, objectivity, and respect for each other.

Lastly, what was said by my husband on twitter was honest, genuine and sincere, this made me realize that I am grateful that he appreciates what I do and that he loves me and shows it publicly, this is nothing new. I am proud that he is unapologetically himself. So NO as per Twitter I will not be divorcing him over shovelling as many have recommended. 😝 It was made out to be something far from the truth and has taken on a life of it’s own and this happens every single day in social media/ mainstream media.

We have left the tweet up in hopes that others will see how cruel and irrational people can be. Hopefully our experience can be an example of how social media/media can totally manipulate things out of context.

Truly, my shovelling was an act of self care and taking care of my home and family. (My daughter can’t believe I had to describe what shovelling means to me 😂)

❤️ Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who have reached out to check on us, we truly appreciate the love and support and are blessed. For the most part, I don’t really know anyone on twitter, but for those of you who understood what Jon meant, thank you. 🙏🏼

We really want you to all know that we are truly okay, our family relationships, faith and friendships are compassionate and loving and that is what keeps us strong. I wish the same support for everyone.

Not the most exciting story, but it’s the truth if it is worth something these days in the context of social media/ media.

Thanks for reading this post,

Reactions Were Swift

Here are some of the responses to Reyes’ post on Twitter:

“God bless you, Jon for being the laziest husband or the cheapest one,” wrote one person.

“That awkward moment when being a beta male is so commonplace that this guy actually took a picture, put it on the internet, and was proud of what he’d accomplished,” wrote another Twitter user. “I shoveled my driveway and then shoveled my neighbor’s driveway after my own 12 hour shift. That’s how it’s done.”

But another person responded to that tweet, “Why does everyone assume he never helped. Just a thought. If i saw my SO shoveling, my first reaction wouldnt be to go help. She is perfectly capable. I’d cook her breakfast, call her in to eat, enjoy time with her then go out and finish what she started.”

A woman wrote, “Having done nights I can guarantee after a 12 hr night shift she does not have the energy to shovel the driveway. She is doing it because it has not been done.”

Another person tweeted at Reyes, “I don’t know what’s worse.
Her having to do this with you inside.
Her having to do this after a 12 hr shift
Her doing this while you watch.
Her doing this while you cook eggs over easy
I think you taking a pic and posting all of the above is worst. Yea. That takes the cake.”

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