Model and TV presenter Ashley Graham recently opened up about what it's like getting to know her new body after she gave birth to her twins.
On Wednesday, the 35-year-old posted a snapshot to her Instagram Stories, showing her 19.3 million Instagram followers a close-up of her "new" stomach. The picture proudly showed off the mom's stretch marks, alongside the caption: "Hi new tummy. You look very different from what I'm use [sic] to. But I do appreciate you."
After giving birth to her twin sons earlier this year, Graham officially became a mom-of-three.
Her other son, Isaac, is two years old.
Speaking to PEOPLE back in April, Graham talked about the constant ups and downs that come with body image while you're pregnant.
"I think being in control when you're pregnant, it just gets thrown out the window," she told the outlet. "And I learned that the hard way when I tried to control everything when I was pregnant with Isaac and I told myself that I was going to bounce right back because I was breastfeeding and everybody told me, 'Oh, if you breastfeed you're going to lose all the weight...'"
However, the model quickly realised it wasn't as simple as that.
"I had a few honest women tell me you will never feel the same," she continued. "So they were just blunt with me and sure enough, I haven't felt the same.
"And then boom. I was like, 'Well, I just got pregnant again so maybe I'll never feel the same and I don't even know what I felt like before I was pregnant with Isaac anyways,'" she said.
Graham's second pregnancy was a turbulent one. Amidst body image issues and re-learning how to love herself, the model also experienced some serious health complications.
In a personal essay for Glamour, she shared the details of a hemorrhage that left her fighting for her life.
"At first we were all celebrating... [But] 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," she wrote.
The model continued relaying the traumatic event, recalling: "When I finally came to, I looked around and I saw everybody. They just kept saying to me, 'You’re fine. You’re fine. You’re fine.'... Even though they didn’t want to go into the details at that moment, I looked around the room, saw blood literally everywhere, and let out this deep, visceral cry—an emotional release from the chaos I had just experienced."
Let's continue being thankful for this amazing mom who continues to keep it real with her fans!
