Happy tears! Plus-size model Nadia Aboulhosn broke down in public when she saw her Women’s Running magazine cover for the first time in stores.
“Brb I’m crying ugly tears. I shot a few months ago with @womensrunningmagazine for their April 2016 issue that’s out on stands now,” Aboulhosn, 27, wrote via Instagram on March 14. “I was in the airport last night flying from Florida back to LA and went in the store, saw it, and started crying…I for sure thought last minute something was going to happen and I wouldn’t be on the cover just solely off the fact that things have turned wrong for me so much of my life when I’m almost about to have something.”
Despite the cover star’s doubts, the decision was a no-brainer for the glossy’s editor in chief, Jessica Sebor. “You don’t need to be an Olympic marathon runner to get the physical, emotional and psychological benefits of staying fit and healthy,” she wrote in a statement.
Aboulhosn’s cover marks the second time the fitness mag has featured a plus-size model on the cover in just eight months. In July 2015, 18-year-old curvy model Erica Schenk had the honor. “There’s a stereotype that all runners are skinny, and that’s just not the case,” Sebor told Today. “Runners come in all shapes and sizes. You can go to any race finish line, from a 5K to a marathon, and see that. It was important for us to celebrate that.”
But it isn’t just about changing the industry, it’s also about self-esteem. “I think that every woman goes to the magazine rack sometimes and feels like she can’t see herself in the cover images,” she added. “We wanted our readers to feel like they could see themselves in our cover.”
