Beyoncé’s Documentary Reveals the “Very Valuable Lesson” She Learned During Post-Partum Recovery
It was just one year ago that Beyoncé shut down Coachella—or, as the year of the festival is now known, Beychella. Today (along with a live album), the superstar is sharing an intimate, in-depth look at how it all came together, including her grueling post-partum journey that began less than a year after giving birth to twins Rumi and Sir.
As Beyoncé first detailed in her September Vogue cover story, she changed her diet, “became vegan temporarily, gave up coffee, alcohol, and all fruit drinks.” The singer has gone animal-product-free a few times over the years in anticipation of past Coachella performances, but as she further reveals in her new Netflix documentary, Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé she went to new lengths after her second time giving birth.
"I thought I'd never be the same," she explains of her post-partum life. "I had to rebuild my body." That rebuilding came after being confined to bedrest for a month and having an emergency C-section due to preeclampsia complications. Add on caring for newborn twins, a six-year-old, plus a marriage and an intense training schedule, and you begin to understand the task at hand. "I would dance and go off to the trailer and breastfeed the babies," she explained via voiceover in the new film.
The intensity of her routine resulted in a key realization about self-care. "I definitely pushed myself further than I knew I could and I've learned a very valuable lesson," she says. "I will never push myself that far again."
Through it all, she’s found newfound appreciation for her body, as she reflected on in Vogue. “To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller,” she wrote. “I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real.” Consider the singer's healthy approach words to live by in 2019.
