…I bought a new car.
And, according to the internet, it’s either the best, most perfect, most amazing car or a huge, giant, disgusting, revolting mistake.
I love it. My husband loves it. My kids don’t care in the least. But, according to a surprising number of people on the Instagram and the TikTok who have made it their life’s work to investigate the financial, marital, and moral implications of my vehicle purchase, it could go either way (and don’t you worry…I’ll get to those people in a hot second).
First, let’s talk about my new mom-mobile. Her name is Winifred, and I love her. Don’t get me wrong, I also loved Stella (my former mom-mobile), and I never had an issue with her at all.
What I drove before
Stella was my 2021 GMC Yukon XL. She was a dream. I bought her brand-new in November 2021 without a single mile on her, and I put 107,000 miles on her in the almost five years we were a team. I love Stella. Stella was good to me.
What I drive now
Winifred is a 2026 Lexus TX, and she’s a perfect princess. I love her because I was able to order every single feature and color I wanted from the exterior windchill pearl finish with the blacked out trim to the interior birch color…she’s exactly what I want. And if you’ve been following me on the ‘gram or on the TikTok for any time, you probably saw my viral reel “out with old, in the with the new,” and the many, many opinions that came with it. Very dramatic.
Out with the old – me pulling the Yukon out of the garage and backing down the driveway.
In with the new – me pulling the Lexus into the garage.
That’s it. That’s the reel. No political statements or press conferences. Just a middle age mom pulling a couple of cars in and out of the garage. But boy did the people have thoughts. But, I’ll get to that in a moment.
The decision to go from the Yukon to the Lexus
Honestly, it was two-fold. And honestly, it wasn’t an easy decision. I loved my Yukon, and I would have stuck with it if not for two very important factors. Number One – All I see across social media and the news right now are families with brand-new Yukons being towed out of their driveways with captions like “not even 4,000 miles and my Yukon transmission is dead” and “6,000 miles and my engine blew”. It’s concerning. I never had one issue with my Yukon. Not one. But would I get that lucky a second time?
Number Two – The only notable difference in the 2026 Yukon versus my 2021 Yukon is the tech screen on the dash. That’s it. No body style changes. No major differences. Just a new screen…and a $25,000 increase in price. I already spent over $80k in 2021 on Stella. I’m not spending six figures on an SUV that looks and feels exactly like the one I already have with the exception of the screen.
So…what else might I want?
I’ve had my eye on that Lexus for months. Love it. Obsessed with it. It’s smaller, yes, but so is my family now (insert tears here…). My oldest daughter is off to college. She doesn’t even live here. She’s ridden in my car with me maybe 6 times since she turned 16 and got her own car.
Our middle daughter turns 16 in six months, and she’ll get her own car, too. And that means I’m a mom with essentially two 12-year-olds to get to and from where they need to go. I no longer need a massive SUV. The Lexus trunk is surprisingly large, and when we travel to and from the airport with our oldest daughter and her boyfriend for vacations, we’ll simply take two cars from this point on. If we road trip it with our three younger kids, I can always put half of the third row down and have plenty of space for one child in the third row and our luggage.
Right now, I have Ava’s golf clubs and bag, her golf push cart, our stadium seats, and several other items in the trunk with the third row up and usable, and I still have room for groceries and more, so I’m not sweating the trunk space.
Also, she’s a fucking beauty.
My Yukon was a dream. I loved her. I will always love her. But…at the end of the day, I wanted to go back to driving a luxury car. And so I did.
Buying a Lexus means my husband is cheating on me
Yes, I’m afraid you read that correctly. Guys, trust me, it was just as much a shock to me and my husband as it is to you. I didn’t know. He didn’t know. Thankfully, Matt from the Midwest (who has no mutual friends, no affiliation with either of us, and no photos) knows everything about me. He did say he is not assuming, he KNOWS.
What does he know, you ask? Well, he knows that I am an entitled SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY whose husband is DEFINITELY cheating on me and he DEFINITELY loves his side piece more and we are definitely getting a divorce…because he bought me a Lexus. Guys, I don’t make the rules.
Do I have questions? Absolutely. First, I am admittedly confused about how buying a new car makes me an entitled see you next Tuesday, but he’s probably not actually wrong about that, so it’s not my most important question.
My most important question is how I missed that my husband is cheating on me. You see, we both work from home. His office is in our house and he’s been here working from home for well over a decade now. We spend an unhealthy amount of time together…like 24 hours a day. I mean, he does take our kids to school every morning – or is that just a front for spending time with his side piece…I’ll ask the kids if he’s really driving them to school. And I do go pick them up every afternoon. And we do have cameras at every entrance to our home. We do go to all of our kid’s sporting events together, so it’s possible he’s with his side piece while he’s sitting with me in the stands and I’m just missing that.
But more importantly, this is a man who cannot find his car keys when I accidentally put them on the books on his bedside table instead of on the tray on his bedside table that is right next to the books and he did look everywhere for them and they were definitely missing (this has happened twice), so forgive me if I question his ability to find a side piece when he can’t even find keys right in front of his face.
And finally, if he has a side piece he loves more than me and I still get a brand-new Lexus SUV, should I be asking or more and what exactly is the side piece getting? I am just thankful that my 12-second reel on the internet was enough evidence for a complete stranger to diagnose my entire life. Bless this man and his insightful wisdom.
I love the internet
What does your husband do? You are so entitled? Privilege is gross. That’s two new cars. Horrible downgrade.
But also…welcome to the Lexus club! You’re going to love her so much! I love that! Can you tell me how it’s working because I have four kids and I want one but I’m so afraid to lose the space my full size SUV offers? Yes, queen! She’s so pretty! Love it! You’ll never drive anything but a Lexus ever again!
There’s good and there is bad with the internet, and everything comes with a grain of salt. Thankfully, I’m not easily offended and my feelings aren’t easily hurt, so the negative comments don’t bother me (though I do block the people who are downright hateful and inappropriate because it’s just unnecessary). And we definitely get a good laugh out of it.
Opinions are like assholes.
Everyone is one.
So, yes, I bought a new car. And yes, I love her. And yes, I am excited to show her off. But, you can keep scrolling. Not every thought needs to be shared. Hating strangers on the internet has to be exhausting. I see stuff every single day that makes me judge, roll my eyes, and think unkind thoughts. I just…keep scrolling. But to each his own.
The world can say all the mean things on the internet, and I’ll just be driving along in my new Lexus with my pretty pink CarPlay and my music turned up too loud, cursing all the idiots on the road, and not worrying about my husband cheating on me in the least.
Because I’m embracing the changes that come with turning 43 this month and with my family growing, changing, and evolving.
So…out with the old. In with the new.
Also, I just want to take a moment to thank the staff at Wesley Chapel Lexus for finding exactly what I want, delivering it to my house so we didn’t even have to leave the house for this purchase, and for making sure I am truly satisfied. Five stars, guys.
Tiffany Raiford 