Meet the Savage x Fenty Muse Who Is Championing the Postpartum Body
It's a setup you've seen a hundred times: the muscle car and the bikini-clad beauty. Only this time—in a photograph by Tyrone Lebon, as part of Rihanna's Savage x Fenty lingerie campaign—there's a subversive twist: bra, underwear, baby bump.
Marz Lovejoy, the tattooed musician and consultant unfurled on the hood of a peacock-blue Impala, isn't exactly the target audience for maternity wear. "The clothes are so ugly! It's like, why do I have to be this granny all of a sudden?" she says with a laugh, speaking from the Harlem apartment that she shares with her husband, the Office magazine editor Simon Rasmussen, and their month-old daughter, Nomi. What does it mean to model lingerie on the cusp of motherhood? "I think it's major," Lovejoy says. "Sexiness, it's a mindset; it's not a physical feature. It's a way of life."
For Lovejoy, that philosophy plays out on two very visible stages. There's the real world, where, at six months pregnant, she laced up her waist-high Jeffrey Campbell boots during Paris Fashion Week. ("Just the shock of it was fun for me.") And then, of course, there's Instagram. She has posted portraits in leather, mesh, and leopard print (and less), shot by a crew of female photographers including Petra Collins and Zora Sicher; a split-screen dance video showed Lovejoy, nearly full-term, grooving alongside the equally resplendent @loveleeleena. And in the true spirit of a bodybuilder—synonym for expectant mother if there ever was one—she posed in a leotard, biceps flexed, with the caption, "Power in Pregnancy."
"So many women were sharing their experiences and telling me how I've been inspiring them—and that wasn't my goal," says Lovejoy, explaining that she didn't set out to be the poster woman for body-positive pregnancy. Now, on the flip-side of childbirth, that spirit of unbridled self-acceptance is even more resonant. Here, Lovejoy talks about the cabbage she slipped into her nursing bra, the hard-won alchemy of breastfeeding ("pain turns to love exponentially"), and the stealth workout she sneaks in while brushing her teeth.
You’ve had some high-profile fashion moments, including walking in Shayne Oliver's show for Helmut Lang and wearing a head-turning custom dress for your wedding. How did the Savage x Fenty shoot come about?
Actually it was Tyrone Lebon, the photographer. He’s a friend, and for him, it was just more interesting, shooting me pregnant in lingerie. He also was like, "I was wondering if you and your husband would be open to me shooting the birth." So I spoke to Simon about it, and he was down. Tyrone’s a really sweet, tall, gentle giant, and Simon fell in love because he’s just so kind. So he came out from London and shot the birth as well.
How did that play out?
It was really special. We were at home, and the due date—it really should be called an estimation date, right? You get your hopes set on it, and only 5 percent of women give birth on their actual due date. He came out April 18; she was born April 27. I texted him, "OK, I’m having contractions. I think this might be the day!" And he just stuck around and had conversations with my family because both my grandmas were here, my mom, my dad, my best friend, my aunt and uncle. I mean, it was a full house. We had our midwife, our doula. We counted—I think there were 12 people here!
There's a photo of you flexing your muscles, captioned, "Power in Pregnancy." Was that the overarching feeling for you, or did you find that, in more vulnerable moments, your online presence offered up a reserve of support?
There were definitely times of vulnerability, but I felt super blessed because I had a very healthy, chill pregnancy. I didn’t get morning sickness or any real nausea, so I felt really strong. I kept reflecting on my mom, who had a hard pregnancy. My dad was around, but they were much younger than Simon and I were, just at a different place in life. I thought about the women who I did a workshop with [in conjunction with the Swedish maternity brand, Boob], who don’t have permanent housing. And just women all over the world—how powerful we are to be able to carry this life for such a long time and go through different phases, physically, emotionally, mentally. I had my partner there for support, and I had this outlet [online]. I really didn’t deal with any Internet trolls. It was all really positive.
On 4/20 you posted about being weed-free for 525 days. Did pregnancy help reaffirm decisions and new habits you've made?
Definitely, and more so because Simon and I are both sober; he’s been sober 13 years. We each grew up with one parent who was dependent on drugs or alcohol, and I think, for us, we're really proud of breaking that chain in our families. That doesn’t mean that she’s not going to experiment on her own, but bringing her into the world in such a positive way, it means a lot to me.
Did pregnancy make you reassess other aspects of health and wellness, like your beauty routine?
I’m not a product girl by any means. I wash off with water and use coconut oil and that’s about it. But what I was eating—for sure. I already had a pretty balanced diet, but my midwife sent me this list of acidic foods to stay away from, and that was really helpful. I was eating one to two cloves of [raw] garlic every day. Garlic has so many great properties—not for your breath, but it’s really good for your skin. It dries everything up. And then there are some natural remedies. One thing that my midwife recommended that I found helped was dry seaweed; they come in big packs, so you cut it into strips, then run them underwater, and just lay them in your pad because you have bleeding after [you give birth]. That helps alleviate pain. And cabbage in your bra. You have to be careful because it can dry your milk, but if you do it a few times, like when you’re engorged and your milk is coming in, that is really helpful. I was like a walking salad!
Coming off pregnancy, where the bump is so visible and celebrated, what has postpartum been like for you body-wise? Some people tend to hibernate until they’ve returned to their former selves, but you’re bucking that trend.
One boob is dramatically smaller than the other [laughs]. I have a B cup boob and a C cup boob, but what am I going to do about it? And now I have some hips. I’m not back to my original body type, but I’m also embracing it because I feel like I have one-upped my life. In my eyes, I had this baby natural, no meds, water birth, at home. I am a warrior, so I don’t even care. I feel like just a very strong woman, and I have to have a little more weight: I’m feeding two people.
Speaking of which, there’s that Princess Nokia line from a song whose video you were in: "Nipples dripping nectar for the youth." Is that a similar thing, in terms of breastfeeding—that you’re not going to shy away from this process that should be public?
For sure. Women go through so much pain to put humans on this earth, so in my mind, we should be able to do whatever the fuck we want to do. It should not be hidden. It should just be the norm because it is, and the fact that we’re able to nurture these bodies, push them out, and then feed them from our own body, it’s incredible. And it is painful! Breastfeeding, now it’s fine; she’s a month old, so now my body is used to it, but the first two weeks of breastfeeding is painful. It feels like a million little razor blades coming from your nipples. It is not pretty, and that is love. All of this pain turns to love exponentially. So I’m honored to have the ability to produce milk, that my daughter latched on within minutes of being out in the world. It’s such an amazing bonding time, hearing the little noises. My boobs are her favorite thing in the world, and I am so proud of that.
You posted a recent salon selfie because “me and Nomi gonna stay cute.” How has it been, making time for things like beauty and fitness?
I think it’s super important to remember self-care—like, right after the baby is born, finding time to take a bath or take a shower even, or to shave because during my pregnancy, shaving was few and far between. Then, a week after she was born, I was like, OK, I’m going to paint my nails. Just those little things that are reminders that you can be cute. This week my mom has been here helping me, and the weather was really nice, and I was like, OK, I need to get my hair done. As far as fitness, I’ve been doing squats. If you have an electric toothbrush, you have the little timer, and you can do squats while you brush your teeth—that’s a little trick. I think next week I’m really going to get more into it, like do some sit-ups. You have to feel comfortable. I have to remind myself, OK, you need to give yourself time to rest.
You did the human equivalent of a Mount Everest climb.
Right, exactly. Once the baby was out, I found myself eager to get back to a lot of things that I hadn’t been able to do, but you also just have to chill out and let people get stuff for you. You don’t want to entertain too much because [you need] your energy. Last thing: For the women who are in relationships or have partners, make time for each other and communicate. That’s also really important to your mental health and your physical health. Everything is so focused on baby, but don’t forget to let your partner be a part of the experience, or [to make sure that] you and your partner have time together. That’s really important.
