Sports Illustrated Model Boldly Poses In Bikini Four Months After Giving Birth
Image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
This year marked the seventh time model Samantha Hoopes graced the pages of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, but this time, the model explained that her experience was rather different.
“It was almost like my first shoot all over again,” the model spoke of the photoshoot in Scrub Island in the British Virgin Islands. “I was really nervous.”
Hoopes divulged that she gave birth to her first child, George, four months before she was supposed to pose almost nude for the 2020 Swimsuit Issue. “My body was different, my angles were all different, my skin was still super loose and just finding the confidence again to be in front of the camera was tough,” Hoopes admitted.
Despite facing a few hiccups in the beginning, when she started leaking milk, Hoopes found herself “feeling more confident” afterwards.
She found it “liberating” to not have to care about “things [she] cared about” when she was younger. “Having stretch marks and everything that goes along with growing a baby, I just owned it and I wanted to own it for other women, too, because it’s not an easy thing,” she said.
After giving birth, Hoopes struggled to accept her pregnancy weight gain. She said she didn’t feel “good, confident or beautiful,” and expected to bounce back to her pre-pregnancy figure within a month. When it didn’t happen, she beat herself up for it but slowly learned to embrace it all.
She hopes to set an example for other mothers out there who are struggling to come to terms with their “imperfections.” A piece of advice she gave was also to get a “good fake spray tan.”
“You look more toned than you really are,” she said.
[via Page Six, opening image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com]
Also check out these recent news
