Ashley Graham has been intent upon showing the reality of pregnancy and postpartum life.
The 32-year-old model put her stretch marks and scars on display in an Instagram post on Monday, less than a month after she gave birth to her first child. “Same me. Few new stories,” she captioned the raw photo.
The new mom has been candid about the adjustments she’s had to make physically, mentally and emotionally since giving birth to her first child with husband Justin Ervin on Jan. 18.
Earlier this week, the model posted a tender image showing her breastfeeding at a coffee shop. Last week, she shared a mirror selfie showing off her “disposable underwear.”
“Raise your hand if you didn’t know you’d be changing your own diapers too🙋🏻♀️,” Ashley captioned the shot. “After all these years in fashion I never could’ve guessed that disposable underwear would be my favorite piece of clothing but here we are! No one talks about the recovery and healing (yes even the messy parts) new moms go through. I wanted to show you guys that it’s not all rainbows and butterflies!”
“It’s been tough, but my friend Chelsea @cmrh and ceo at @fridamom is making waves and starting honest conversations,” she went on. “It’s unbelievable the obstacles we still face talking about what women really go through. All their stuff she sent me has been a life saver.”
Graham announced the birth of her baby boy on her Instagram Story Jan. 20, writing, “At 6:00pm on Saturday our lives changed for the better. Thank you for all your love and support during this incredible time.” She announced his name — Isaac Menelik Giovanni Ervin — and detailed her home birth on her “Pretty Big Deal” podcast shortly after.
Leading up to the baby’s arrival, Ashley was getting parenting advice from some of her famous friends, including Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams and Amy Schumer.
“Kim immediately started telling me, ‘Ashley, the pregnancy may be the hardest part, but the birth is the easiest,'” Graham told Vogue of the words Kardashian told her at Serena’s New York Fashion Week show in September 2019. “I’m just taking in advice from everyone and not putting too much pressure on myself.”
After the show, Graham made her way backstage. “Serena was like, ‘Call me; we should talk.'”
At the time, Williams told Vogue she texted Ashley with “anything that rolls off my mind. I was one of those people who wanted to know every ugly detail of what happens … down there … what happens everywhere. Like, why are my nipples so big a week into being pregnant? This makes no sense; the baby doesn’t need to eat yet. I wanted to know every single thing, and I still love talking about it. Because I feel like it’s important to kind of change the narrative and be like, it’s normal to feel scared, and not be one of those women who are like, ‘Oh, it’s so great!’ Just be scared out of your mind. That’s normal.”
Graham announced she and Ervin were expecting back in August, before revealing they were having a boy while on Ellen back in November.
Got a story or a tip for us? Email TooFab editors at [email protected].
View Photos
Getty
Ashley Graham Shows Off Her Growing Baby Bump at CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Awards