Even body-positive activist Tess Holliday struggles with her reflection sometimes. The model, who welcomed son Bowie in June, took to Instagram on December 23 and revealed it’s a “battle” to love her postbaby shape. “It’s been 6 months & my stomach is lower, my breasts are a different shape, new stretch marks & I feel like a stranger in my body more than ever,” Holliday wrote. “I wasn’t anticipating this at all.”
In the black-and-white accompanying photos, the 31-year-old Mississippi native is seen posing in a bra and underwear. “I debated on whether or not to post this, but I think it’s important to be honest about what it’s like to be a woman in the media, who recently had a baby & the pressure that’s put on new moms to ‘lose the baby weight,’” Holliday continued. “I was fat before, I carried a healthy baby & guess what, still fat … & THAT’S OK.”
The size-22 beauty, who is engaged to Australian artist Nick Holliday, noted that her New Year’s resolution is not to drop pounds — but to “work on learning my new body & loving & nurturing it.”
“Not a day goes by that Nick doesn’t tell me how beautiful I am, but it’s not our partner’s job to lift our spirits,” she wrote. “We have to be our own cheerleaders. So that’s what I will do, take it day by day. It’s a journey, not a race … & a beautiful one at that. #6monthspostpartum. #effyourbeautystandards.”
Holliday is already mom of 10-year-old son Rylee from a previous relationship. While pregnant with Bowie, she took to social media to address her bump shamers. “When ‘celebrities’ are pregnant in the press, they look glamorous, toned & are eager to talk about how they are going to get the baby weight off,” she captioned an April 19 Instagram selfie of her belly. “While I’ve done my best to look as put together as possible, that’s not real life & it’s not for most women. I’m not the first plus-size woman in the public eye to have a baby & share it with the world & I certainly won’t be the last.”
