Image Source: Getty / Frazer Harrison
Ashley Graham is proudly showing off her postpartum body. On Nov. 2, the supermodel and mother of three shared the below unfiltered look at her “new tummy” after welcoming twins earlier this year. “Hi new tummy. You look very different from what I’m use to,” she wrote over an Instagram Stories selfie of her bare stomach on display, stretch marks and all. She concluded with a note of gratitude, adding, “But I do appreciate you” alongside a heart-hands emoji.
The empowering post came nearly 10 months after Graham gave birth to her twin boys, Malachi and Roman. She and husband Justin Ervin previously welcomed their first child, a son named Isaac, in January 2020. Ever since becoming a mom, Graham has been open about the physical changes that come with every step of motherhood, from pregnancy and breastfeeding all the way through postpartum life. Though a shining example of body positivity, Graham admitted that even she struggled to maintain confidence through each stage.
“It’s always going to be this tug and pull of where you are with your body,” she told POPSUGAR while pregnant with her twins. “When I got pregnant with Isaac, I got smacked in the face with, ‘Oh, you’re going to have to really practice what you preach’ because my body was changing so quickly. . . . I know that I’m taking great care of myself and the boys, but there is this constant conversation that I’m having with myself, like: ‘Your body is a vessel. Your body is strong. Your body is meant to do this.’ And the affirmations never go away.”
Graham frequently shares candid peeks at her motherhood journey with her millions of social media followers. A month before welcoming Malachi and Roman, she posted a gorgeous naked photo flaunting her stretch marks that her husband compared to “the tree of life.” And several months after their birth, she showed how she simultaneously breastfeeds them, captioning an intimate at-home picture, “double fisting.” We can always count on Graham to keep it real.
Image Source: Instagram user ashleygraham