Ashley Graham’s stretch marks make her feel like a “superhero”.
The 32-year-old model gave birth to her son Isaac in January this year, and has said the marks that have been left on her body due to her pregnancy remind her that women are superheroes for giving birth, which she describes as a “beautiful thing”.
She said: “When I look at my new stretch marks and the changes that my body went through, it reminds me that, as women, we’re all superheroes.
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“I’m always reminded that our bodies were built to do this. It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to give birth, but I didn’t realize it until afterward. Before I was even pregnant, that was always my hope for women in general, that they could learn to continue to love their bodies through the changes and the ups and downs.”
Ashley – who is known for being a proponent of body positivity – had to “re-imagine” her relationship with her body during pregnancy, and felt “devastated” by her stretch marks at first.
But the beauty soon realized her marks were not “battle wounds”, and learned to “celebrate” her “new body”.
The model – who has her son with her husband Justin Ervin – added: “And then, when I got pregnant, I had to re-imagine my relationship with my body with this creature inside me taking over. I was gaining weight so rapidly. Then, to get stretch marks on my stomach, that to me was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I can’t believe this happened.’ At first it felt devastating, and then when I met Isaac, I said, ‘No, this is exactly what every woman has talked about for ages. This is not just a battle wound. This is something that has changed my life forever, and I’m going to celebrate my new body.’ “
Ashley also spoke about her decision to stop letting the fashion industry “take over” her body.
Speaking to her pal Kristen Bell in an interview for the first ever digital edition of ELLE magazine, she said: “I let the fashion industry take over my body for too many years. The moment I stepped free and said, ‘Enough is enough – I’m going to do what I want,’ is when I started seeing changes, not only in my personal life but in my professional life. But it really takes hard work.”
She new mother also believes “mommy-shaming” on social media is “out of control”.
The 32-year-old model is mother to seven-month-old son Isaac – whom she has with her husband Justin Ervin – and has said she’s always being bombarded with “unsolicited advice” from people on social media who think they know how to raise her child, as she urged them to “keep [their] trap shut”.
She said: “I remember how I felt when everybody told me what to do and sent me their unsolicited advice and their lists. If there’s a question to be asked, ask it. But other than that, keep your trap shut and just let that mother figure it out. The mommy-shaming on social media is out of control.”
And because she knows how irritating it can be to be mommy-shamed, Ashley knows to “stop [her]self” whenever she gets the urge to give her own advice to new mothers.
She added: “Everybody has an opinion, right? But I just kind of did what I wanted to do.”
The model understands all children grow and develop at different speeds, and says that whilst her son isn’t “sleep-trained” yet, he doesn’t keep his parents up all night either.
She explained: “Isaac is not sleep-trained, but he only wakes up maybe once or twice in the night, max. I feel 100 percent rested, so it’s not like I’m living in agony every day like, ‘He didn’t sleep last night.’ We’re walking into month [seven], and he’s screaming at the top of his lungs. He thinks it’s so fun to be louder than Mom and Dad.”
Ashley and Justin have been raising their tot during the coronavirus pandemic, and the beauty feels lucky to have been able to spend the past few months away from work.
