Ashley Graham Shows Off 'New Mom Bod' in Swimsuit Shoot

Size inclusivity and body positivity have long been hallmarks of Ashley Graham’s modeling career. We’re so happy to see that she’s embracing that even more as she goes back to posing in bikinis and swimsuits seven months after giving birth to baby Isaac. In fact, in her latest photo shoot for her new collaboration with Swimsuits for All, Graham is full-on celebrating the changes motherhood has made to her body.

“There’s always a question of what do you want us to retouch, and what do you want us to take out? And I said, ‘Nothing’, except [for] a clamp holding up the DIY backdrop,” Graham told People of the photos, shot by husband Justin Ervin, promoting Ashley Graham x Swimsuits for All. “I want everybody to know genuinely… I want people to see who I am, because every body has a story.”

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That story is there in un-retouched stretch marks and new curves on her belly and legs, all showing that she brought a new life into this crazy world in January. The sight is familiar to those of us who have been viewing Graham’s photos of breastfeeding Isaac and dealing with all the joys and indignities of new motherhood since January.

“I’ve got more weight on me,” she told People. “I’ve stretch marks, and in the beginning, I really had to have a lot of conversations with myself and tell myself, ‘Okay, new body, new mindset.’ But after this photo shoot, I felt so empowered because I was like, ‘Yes. I look good. I feel good. This is my new mom bod.'”

The shoot also tells the story of her life in the pandemic — where exotic beaches and sleek photo studios have been replaced by Graham’s aunt’s farm in Nebraska and a sheet on a clothesline. But at least she’s brought a pretty good photographer — her filmmaker hubby — into quarantine with her.

Being far from their Brooklyn home and the glamour of the fashion industry hasn’t been much of a loss for the new parents, however.

“I feel like I’ve had more time with Isaac and [at] home than I ever would have had,” Graham told the magazine. “And that really is a silver lining for me.”

Strangely, Swimsuits for All isn’t using all of Graham and Ervin’s photos to sell the swimsuits on its site. Instead, we see an Ashley Graham lookalike model in most of the main photos on the page, and we have to click through and scroll down in order to see her gorgeous mom-bod pics. What’s up with that? If anyone wants to inform the company that this isn’t cool, please go for it.

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While Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin tackle the special challenges of having an infant, these celebrity parents are showing us how to do the hard work of teaching their kids about racism.

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