US billionaire’s wife called out for ‘entitled’ behaviour amid Instagram handle battle

Katherine Asplundh, formerly Driscoll, married Cabot Asplundh, heir to a multibillion-dollar fortune. Photo / Katherine Driscoll

The wife of an American billionaire has caused a stir online after allegedly asking to buy an Instagram handle to match her married name.

New York Post reports Katherine Driscoll — now Asplundh after tying the knot with Cabot Asplundh, of one of American’s richest families — took to Instagram after her wedding and tried to update her handle to her new name. She soon realised she could not because another woman with the same name held the account name @katherineasplundh.

Deciding to try her luck, the newlywed reached out to the woman and reportedly asked if she could buy the Instagram name.

Screenshots of the exchange were posted on a Reddit thread titled “NYCInfluencersnark” and appeared to show Driscoll message the woman, “Hi just wondering if I could purchase your username from you. Just got married and this is my new name.”

Screenshots of the alleged exchange were posted to Reddit, where many readers weighed in. Photo / Reddit

Philadelphia Inquirer reports the woman was surprised by the message and felt nervous to reply. When she finally did, screenshots show her message back reads, “Hi congrats! That’s my name too. I just googled and it said selling my username would get me banned from Instagram.”

However, a determined Driscoll quickly replied, insisting that selling Instagram handles is a common practice among high-profile individuals and that was how she got her last Instagram name.

Regardless, the woman maintained her stance and would not agree to selling her handle to Driscoll.

It was a move that appeared to upset the newlywed, who replied and said she “didn’t know there was another Asplundh’s family out there”, prompting the Instagram handle holder to confess the account was a fake one — commonly known as a “finsta” — for private stories and archiving photos. She explained she has a second account with her maiden name that she uses as her main account.

“I actually don’t believe that your name is Katherine Asplundh, who would make their finsta their actual name?” Driscoll hit back, before adding she and her husband had reported the woman to Instagram. “I reported you to Instagram and they’re actually able to tell me your real name, I really hope I don’t know you because that’s gonna be really embarrassing for you.”

Determined to get the handle, Driscoll continued to push the woman for details, stating: “The family I just married into is the only Asplundh in America.”

The woman said she was not American and when asked by Discoll for “proof”, the woman had had enough of the situation. She went on to file two reports to Instagram, one for asking her to sell her account name and the second for harassing her.

“Have a good day,” she told Driscoll.

Katherine with her billionaire heir husband, Cabot Asplundh. Photo / Katherine Driscoll

The woman has since spoken to news outlet Philadelphia Inquirer, admitting, “I was open to giving her my username,” noting, “I just didn’t want to sell it because that would get me banned. After I replied to her, her messages came off snarky so I told myself, ‘Okay, this isn’t worth it’.”

Many users of Reddit weighed in on the exchange, with plenty agreeing with the way the woman had handled the situation.

One person wrote, “Legitimately INSANE behaviour “I don’t believe that’s your name” HUH?!?!” Another added: “From now on you live on that Instagram account. Do not sell it to this ridiculous woman. I would actually make that public but that’s just me being petty.”

The New York Times reports that since the screenshots of the alleged exchange were posted on Reddit, numerous accounts with variations of the name “Katherine Asplundh” have been created on Instagram.