Ashley Graham/Instagram
Just days after a commenter concern-trolled Ashley Graham over her stretch marks, she’s showing ’em off in all their stunning glory
You don’t need us to tell you that Ashley Graham is always a gorgeous, glowing goddess, but perhaps the most gorgeous thing about her is that she embraces her beauty and her body throughout its changes, particularly during pregnancy.
Graham is currently expecting twin boys with husband Justin Ervin, and she’s been taking fans and followers along for her pregnancy journey on social media, just as she did with the couple’s eldest son, Isaac, who was born in January 2020. Not only does she keep it refreshingly real about the highs and lows of pregnancy both times (including “crying so. damn. much!” as she shared in a recent episode of her vlog) but she’s remaining true to her message of body positivity, showing off her changing body in all its beautiful glory.
Sharing an absolutely stunning, fully nude third trimester shot on Instagram, the 34-year-old shared in her caption that “Justin says my stretch marks look like the tree of life.” And tbh, no matter what you wanna call them, her stretch marks are straight-up perfection, just as all stretch marks are.
The photo comes just days after Graham — a literal supermodel — was concern-trolled in the comments section of an equally gorgeous post she shared highlighting some fun recent moments from her pregnancy, including a bare-bellied photo session with a professional photographer.
Graham shared a screenshot of the comment to her Instagram Stories, which read, “I had twins but I did not get any stretch marks. I hope that does not affect your career.” The mom-of-one (whose career has thrived before, during, and after pregnancy, BTW!) shut it down flawlessly, captioning the screenshot, “Gosh — still hope I have a career with my stretch marks.”
Of course, by showing off her body’s changes, Graham is no doubt helping to normalize all the things that make us unique, whether they be stretch marks from pregnancy or postpartum (or just the normal, natural growth every human on the planet experiences) or any other features that have been long perpetuated as “flaws” that require fixing.
In a 2019 episode of her digital series, Fearless with Ashley Graham filmed during her pregnancy with Isaac, Graham explained that’s exactly why she shares photos of her body, despite how she may be feeling about it at any given moment. Of one candid shot she shared featuring stretch marks on her hips, she revealed, “I had just announced that I was pregnant and I thought then I was going to feel good and I didn’t. I just felt terrible. And that morning… I was like, get it together Ashley — there’s other women out there that are going through the same thing as you. Why don’t you have a dialogue with them?”
“This is a new body that I’m walking into… Why don’t I just put myself out there with this new body?” Graham continued. “I felt so isolated. I felt so alone… So, it’s like I’ve had to come into this new world of body confidence.” All the unabashed slow claps for that, girl.
