12 celebrity mamas get real about their postpartum bodies
For a long time the first photo the public would see of a celebrity who’d recently given birth was a carefully staged, lit and edited bikini photo under headlines about how she “got her body back.” But today, celebs are turning the tables on this old trope, sharing their bodies and stories on their terms through social media.
We love this trend so much.
We love it because it helps postpartum mamas accept and love their own reflections, and because the next generation of moms won’t grow up thinking that bumps disappear within days, and will know there is nothing wrong with them when the bump (and the stretch marks and scars) sticks around.
Check out these celebrity mamas who are honestly sharing their postpartum experience (and taking the pressure off the rest of us).
Jamie Otis
Bachelor alum Jamie Otis is showing the world what a high waisted legging can do and what a real postpartum tummy looks like.
The Married At First Sight star posted two side by side pics with the caption: “It’d be easy to only share the left pic where I look a bit more toned & skinnier, but it’s so *normal* to have a ‘bump’ after having a baby! ”
It absolutely is and we’re glad Otis is sharing both photos!
Ashley Graham
Model Ashley Graham has been super open about her postpartum body and we love her for it.
These stretch marks are on display on her Instagram grid and they are beautiful. She captioned the shot: “Same me. Few new stories.”
We love how real Graham is about her postpartum experience, stretch marks and all.
Daphne Oz
Daphne Oz just had a baby 10 weeks before she posted this shot, so she was slowly returning to her workout routine. We love that, because she was giving her body time to heal. Giving birth is hard on the body!
“I’m not in a rush, I just want to start to feel my core again and strength in my skin. consistency and baby steps get it done,” Oz wrote in an Instagram caption, noting that when she snapped this selfie she had just finished the second workout she’s had since welcoming her youngest, Gigi.
This isn’t the first time Daphne Oz has been refreshingly honest about postpartum life
But this isn’t the first time Oz has been super real about her expectations for her postpartum body. After having her third child, daughter Domenica, back in January 2018, the former co-host of The Chew posted a mirror selfie that sums up how so many fourth trimester mamas feel.
“Seven weeks post partum [sic], still looking three months pregnant,” she captioned her photo. “There is no bounce-back, it’s all onwards and upwards.”
For the record, she still looked amazing in that pic. Both of these photos are amazing.
Katrina Scott
Tone It Up co-founder Katrina Scott has a degree in Health Promotion and Fitness. She knows her stuff and is using her platform to teach other mamas the truth about postpartum fitness: It takes time to for our bodies to build back core and pelvic floor strength, even if fitness is literally your business!
On an episode of The Motherly Podcast, Sponsored by Prudential, Scott explained: “We need to change the conversation with everyone and with ourselves and realize how cool it is that our bodies are different.”
Ayesha Curry
In a recent interview with Working Mother Curry, a mom of three, explained that since becoming a mom when she’s been depressed about her body, and struggled with her body, and regrets the decision to get her “boobs done” after her second daughter was weaned.
“The intention was just to have them lifted, but I came out with these bigger boobs I didn’t want,” she explains, adding that she’s now trying to give her body more love and teach her kids to love what they see in the mirror, too.
“I’m not thin; I’m 170 pounds on a good day. It’s been a journey for me, and that’s why I want my girls to understand who they are—and to love it.”
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy is a queen. We love how real she was about postpartum panties after Miles was born in May 2018, and she’s never been shy about her stretch marks.
In March of 2019 she took to Twitter to talk about her postpartum body and how the former swimsuit model is in a new season of life, one where she’s a mom of two and a cookbook author who unapologetically loves food.
“I am 20 pounds heavier than I was before Miles,” she wrote. “[H]e’s 10 months old. I never lost the last bit because I just love food too much. Just coming to terms with my new normal, when I had this certain number for so long!”
Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson is basically fitness personified, but she’s been super real about her postpartum recovery since the birth of daughter Rani Rose in October 2018.
A few short years ago the first picture the public saw of a celebrity postpartum looked a lot less real than this, but Hudson’s honesty is part of a refreshing change in celebrity culture.
The era of headlines about celebrities “bouncing back” after pregnancy is behind us, and it’s refreshing to see Hudson admitting that a mother’s body doesn’t change overnight after she gives birth.
Tia Mowry
At seven weeks postpartum in June 2018, Tia Mowry explained how not seeing realistic postpartum images during her first pregnancy in 2011 negatively impacted her, so she chose to share her real body to help other mothers (and future mothers) understand that so-called snapbacks are an illusion.
“I remember after giving birth to Cree, my belly didn’t all of a sudden go flat. I did have a C-Section, (as well as with my second pregnancy) and I thought something was wrong with me. I had seen in magazines the many women on the beach a few weeks #postpartum in a two piece. To be honest, it had to take time for me to embrace my new body. With this second pregnancy, I now have embraced that fact that I’ve housed a human being. A miracle. A life. If it takes a while for me to get back to my normal self, than so be it. This.Is.Me. And I love me.”
Ali Manno
In July 2018 former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky Manno posted what she called her “most vulnerable post on Instagram ever,” showing her real postpartum belly to the world after welcoming her second child two months earlier.
“At the end of the day, I know it’s important to be open and honest about my postpartum body in hopes that it helps even one person out there who is struggling with their own body image,” Fedotowsky wrote.
Desiree Siegfried
Another mama from Bachelor nation, Desiree Siegfried also posted a post-baby mirror selfie at four days postpartum.
“So here I am 4 days postpartum looking like I’m still pregnant but feeling like a supermodel/ warrior,” she captioned her pic.
Jessie James Decker
Jessie James Decker’s postpartum mirror pic was a little further out, and shows that bumps sick around for a long time after birth and that’s totally normal and okay.
“Keepin it real! 3 weeks post and I’m still very swollen. The 3rd has been by far the hardest recovery, but I’m feeling stronger every day,” Decker wrote after the birth of her youngest in April 2018.
Jenny Mollen
Actress and author Jenny Mollen is known for sharing pretty much everything on Instagram, so it’s no surprise that IG followers got to see her c-section scar In October 2017, at two weeks postpartum.
“I wish somebody had shown me a pic like this 9 months ago,” Mollen wrote.
[This post was originally published March 3, 2019. It has been updated.]
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