Ashley Graham’s Best Quotes About Being a Mom of 3: ‘My Boys Have Been the Greatest Teachers’

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Ashley Graham's Best Quotes About Being a Mom of 3: 'My Boys Have Been the Greatest Teachers'

A lifelong lesson! Ashley Graham is a proud mom of three who frequently gushes about her sons — calling them "the greatest teachers" in her life. The model, who married cinematographer Justin Ervin in 2010, is mom of son Isaac, born in January 2020, and twins Malachi and Roman, born two years later in January 2022. “My boys have been the greatest teachers and biggest reminders that I can do hard things,” she wrote via Instagram in February 2022 alongside a photo of her breast-feeding her youngest children. Graham — who has been candid about the highs and lows of parenthood since Isaac's birth — previously gushed about her eldest child in a January 2021 tribute in celebration of Isaac's 1st birthday. “You have changed my life and my heart in ways I couldn’t imagine,” the American Beauty Star alum shared at the time. “I can’t believe I’m already writing this because it feels like just yesterday that we met. But at the same time, I also can’t remember what life was like without you.” [jwplayer 7kZw327C-zhNYySv2] In addition to the many sweet moments with her children, Graham has also been candid about the more difficult times, including her 2021 miscarriage one month before getting pregnant with her twins. “It was devastating; it felt like one of the biggest losses I had ever had in my life to date. And I understood at that point what so many other mothers have gone through,” she recalled in an essay for Glamour in May 2022. “And yet the world expects us to move on and handle our grief with grace. I just remember breaking down more than a few times, just at random, and thinking, ‘How do women across the world do this? Because my story is no bigger than anyone else’s.'” The former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition cover star also got real about mommy-shamers, explaining on the Daily Show in February 2023 that nursing her twins for five months was akin to "feeding a nation." “With my first kid I was like, ‘I can only breast-feed! This is the right way!’ And then I had the twins, and I was like, ‘I’m not doing this. This is not working here. Both of you want both of these? This is a lot of work,’” Graham said on the Daily Show, noting she weaned the little ones at 5 months old and replaced her milk with formula. “These little guys are so strong and so happy, so I don’t think we should be telling people how they should be feeding their kids.” Keep scrolling to see Graham's most honest quotes about motherhood:

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

February 2023

“It’s so much fun [being a boy mom,” Graham told Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin). “All of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Where’s the whistle? Let’s go basketball team!’”

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

February 2023

After welcoming her twins, Graham joked that it felt like she was breast-feeding “a nation” — so she opted to wean them at 5 months old.

“With my first kid I was like, ‘I can only breast-feed! This is the right way!’ And then I had the twins, and I was like, ‘I’m not doing this. This is not working here. Both of you want both of these? This is a lot of work,’” she recalled on The Daily Show, replacing her breast milk with the “best formula” she could find for her little ones. “These little guys are so strong and so happy, so I don’t think we should be telling people how they should be feeding their kids.”

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November 2022

Trusting her gut. Graham “makes sure to always remind myself (and it’s something that my mom told me): Mommy knows best,” she told The Bump. “I know what’s best for my kids. So if I’m going to make a decision for them, it’s because I am going from my gut feelings.”

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

October 2022

Graham knows that many happy tears are par for the course after becoming a parent. “You get so mushy and ridiculous!” she joked to SheKnows.

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October 2022

“It's the days that I'm alone with the kids, like all three, that feel like the most stressful,” she admitted to ScaryMommy. “But also I'm like, 'These are my children, and I need to enjoy them. I need to enjoy every single second. It's going to be gone in the blink of an eye.’”

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

June 2022

Soon after giving birth to the twins, Graham realized they needed to be their own people — even as newborns.

"I thought that they were going to be more into each other. I thought that because they were in my body together for so long that they were going to need each other,” she told E! News, adding, “I think that they were actually happier when I put them in different cribs because they were like, 'Finally I have some space, jeez.' They don't have to do everything together."

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

June 2022

“With 3 children under the age of 3, i am constantly changing diapers and wiping cheeks,” Graham joked via Instagram.

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May 2022

In a candid essay for Glamour, Graham revealed she suffered a pregnancy loss before welcoming her twins.

“It was devastating; it felt like one of the biggest losses I had ever had in my life to date. And I understood at that point what so many other mothers have gone through,” the Nebraska native penned. “And yet the world expects us to move on and handle our grief with grace. I just remember breaking down more than a few times, just at random, and thinking, ‘How do women across the world do this? Because my story is no bigger than anyone else’s.'”

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May 2022

In addition to opening up about her devastating miscarriage, Graham recalled her near-death experience while giving birth to Malachi and Roman.

“The night I gave birth to the twins, I hemorrhaged,” she shared, adding that “everything happened so fast” during her home birth that the boys were born before their doula even arrived. “The next thing you know, I looked at my midwife and I said, ‘I don’t feel good. I think I need to lay down,’ and I blacked out. … And I remember seeing darkness and what seemed like stars.”

Though “the twins were fine,” Graham was dazed from the ordeal as she healed. “I [laid] on that bed for four straight days. I couldn’t walk for a week. And I didn’t leave my house for nearly two months,” she noted.

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

February 2022

“My boys have been the greatest teachers and biggest reminders that I can do hard things,” Graham captioned a photo of herself breast-feeding Roman and Malachi.

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February 2021

Desperate times called for desperate measures! “I would get pregnant yesterday if I could,” Graham told WSJ. Magazine one year after son Isaac’s birth. “I’ve ‘accidentally’ had unprotected sex while I’m ovulating just to see if I can [get pregnant] while I’m breast-feeding.”

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

January 2021

The A New Model author gushed about her first-born in a lengthy tribute post in honor of his 1st birthday.

“You have changed my life and my heart in ways I couldn’t imagine,” the body-positive advocate captioned the Instagram video, in which she shared 12 things she learned since becoming a mom. “I can’t believe I’m already writing this because it feels like just yesterday that we met. But at the same time, I also can’t remember what life was like without you.”

Credit: Courtesy Ashley Graham/Instagram

December 2020

Graham exclusively told Us Weekly that she begins each morning with her “favorite boys.”

“I love to start the day snuggled up with Isaac and Justin before heading to the kitchen to get my (first!) caffeine fix of the day,” she shared at the time.