In a social media era that has pushed new moms into feeling the constant pressure to have it all (and to have it all together) we can thank Chrissy Teigen, celebrity model and entertainer, wife to R&B singer-songwriter John Legend, and new mom to two littles for keeping it real.
Yes, she’s loaded, gorgeous, and lives a life with opportunities that most moms can only fantasize about, but she is also absolutely relatable to anyone suffering from stretch marks, infertility, or postpartum depression.
In the past few years, thanks in part to her many talents and social media savvy, this fierce woman has amassed an Instagram following of 17.8 million followers. And while her feed is filled with breathtakingly perfect photos with fantastic lighting, professional hair, and make-up, it is the imperfectly perfect posts and admissions that tend to blow-up on her feed. It is these posts that garner her the most attention while reassuring the women of the world that there really isn't anything perfect about motherhood, no matter your social standing.
Picture a newly delivered mom, complete with messy bun, standing in her kitchen, with newborn babe lost in a tangle of blankets that provide a modicum of coverage as she struggles one-handed to grab a snack. Her still squishy tummy bulging a bit over the ill-fitting (but comfy) bottoms all new moms tend to gravitate to. Mesh hospital underwear holding her massive postpartum pad in place, pulled up high and visible for all the world to see. This image reminds moms everywhere that there isn't anything glamorous about motherhood.
A heartbreakingly vulnerable personal essay to Glamour in March 2017, where she penned her experience with postpartum depression, admitting (given her own many blessings in life) that she felt guilty for feeling sad, angry, sick, and depressed. She also felt the stigma attached to depression, “I still don't really like to say, ‘I have postpartum depression,’ because [it] scares a lot of people...Maybe I should say it, though. Maybe it will lessen the stigma a bit.” Given her own struggles, she continues to advocate for others who may be struggling.
Oversharing seems to be her thing, like the time she told People about having chose the sex of her daughter, Luna, when she was going through IVF. “I've made this decision. Not only am I having a girl, but I picked the girl from her little embryo. I picked her and was like, “Let's put in the girl.”
She also doesn't back down from a fight. Her posts invariably invite internet trolls, like the time she was accused on Twitter of giving Luna alcohol for feeding her red wine braised short ribs. But, she shot back with savage humor any mom could appreciate and envy, “Yeah she gets wasted and sleeps all through the night”.
She manages all of these posts with an incredible sense of realness, however, that keeps moms coming back for more, because #solidarity.
So thank you Chrissy Teigen, for keeping us all grounded and allowing us to remember that motherhood is real, messy, and comes with a lot of unexpected problems. It's not all candy and rainbows, even when you're a stunning celeb.