Ashley Graham has gained 50 lbs during pregnancy: ‘I’ve never felt better’

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We know that Ashley Graham is due to give birth to her child in January. Back in November, she had a baby shower complete with tattoos and piercings for her guests. With her husband, Justin Ervin, at her side, she joyfully told their guests, “‘This is bigger than our wedding. This is like Christmas!'” Ashley has also been open about the “struggle” to accept her changing body. On a recent episode of her podcast, she talked with Taylor Hoit, a mom of four children, whom Ashley first saw on Instagram when Hoit posted a picture of herself 10 weeks after giving birth to twins. Ashley talked to Taylor about her initial hesitation to share the photo of her own stretch marks that ended up garnering a tremendous amount of support and gratitude. She told Taylor, “‘the reason why I had posted that original photo, I had just announced that I was pregnant and I thought then I was going to feel good and I didn’t. I just felt terrible.'” She told Taylor that in the end, she decided to share the photo so that she could “have a dialogue” with others who were having a similar experience.

On Saturday, Ashley shared another post celebrating her body:

This is so cool! I am so happy for Ashley that she’s so comfortable and happy in her body and is sharing that with the world. Even though it might be bit by bit, she’s changing the conversation around what strong, beautiful bodies look like. Ashley also posted this funny video in her dressing room at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, proclaiming that “this thing [her bump] looks fake today.” She then proceeds to move her belly up and down and makes growling noises.

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When a girl from Nebraska dreams big

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Ashley talked to Jimmy about being on the cover of the January 2020 issue of Vogue, and she shared on Instagram a video of as she arrived at the Vogue offices to get a first glimpse of the issue. She is, as she should be, beyond thrilled, and seeing her her happiness and silliness just made me more relaxed and happy, too.

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photos credit: Getty and via Instagram

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24 Responses to “Ashley Graham has gained 50 lbs during pregnancy: ‘I’ve never felt better’”

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  1. I'm With The Band says:

    Ugh, she’s stunning. That’s all I’ve got.

    • Snowslow says:

      Her incredible beauty is enhanced by the sheer happiness to be alive that she exudes.

    • AnnaKist says:

      I’ll second that! She’s gorgeous! I don’t know much about her, so, is that her partner?

      • Snowslow says:

        I think so, yes.
        EDIT: ok, you made me go to her Insta account (huge effort *insert Swift’s ‘look what you made me do’ song* (NOT, she’s so gorge)) and yes, that is her dashing better half.

  2. damejudi says:

    She does look so healthy and happy!

    I gained 30 lbs during my pregnancy, but looked like sh*t b/c of pre-eclampsia. Seriously, my legs looked like tree trunks and my maternity pants (!!!) felt tight.

    Moms need to focus on their health and the health of their baby-the number on the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story.

    • Betsy says:

      I’m honestly surprised if her doctor hasn’t pushed back a little on that weight gain, although she’s just larger than a model, not really large, isn’t she? I started my last two pregnancies obese and my doctors were especially pleased that I had lost weight with my third pregnancy. They’re starting to take weight gain in pregnancy more seriously again (hopefully never to approach the level of obsession they had in the mid century).

      Oh well. She looks happy and she must be tall because that doesn’t look like 50 pounds of weight gain to me.

      • Kristina says:

        I had the same experience. I went into my 3rd pregnancy with a BMI of 19.8 and I still got scolded and counseled because I was gaining too much too fast. I ended up gaining 30lb in total and I really cannot lose the last 10. I have been trying so hard. Anyway- my first 2 pregnancies I gained 16 & 18lb and lost it right away. Everything about this pregnancy was different- I was starving all the time and I tried so hard to eat healthy and not too much. I exercised until the day I was induced and started again 3 weeks later at their go-ahead. I used to think I had done so well after my first 2, then I couldnt slow down the weight on the 3rd and felt so desperate. Sometimes you really don’t have control and I wish doctors were actually more supportive about it.

    • Mo says:

      THIS!!! Plus, a mother’s food restricting is a major risk factor for the child being obese in later life. Basically, if the mother doesn’t get enough calories, the metabolism of the unborn child becomes primed to put on weight throughout their life. This was because of famine, and you can see why we evolved this way, but now mothers are calorie restricting during pregnancy and the effects on the child are the same.

  3. raptor says:

    I gained 50 lbs during my second pregnancy and it was fantastic. I was due in March and in December I had people asking me when the baby was coming. One of my favorite things was watching the looks on their faces when they did the math and figured out I still had three months to go.

  4. A says:

    Why does mainstream fashion industry act like she’s the only plus size model on planet? I don’t see other plus size models getting opportunities like she does. This is not representation. This is tokenism.

  5. Kendeezy says:

    A…tokenism or just came in the industry at the right point? You have to admit she entered into all this at the same time social media (instagram) became popular and took advantage of it. I am incredibly social media shy so I have to give her some props for posting that yoga pic…lord knows I never would and I am half her weight (regardless of pregnancy). And to be honest she looks absolutely gorgeous. In a world of Kardashians I’m wholeheartedly okay with seeing her versus them.

    • A says:

      IG can launch careers now too and many plus size models have accounts there so how come they are not getting same opportunities as her? That’s cause fashion industry is still obsessed with skinny bodies and they have selected this chick as the face of their tokenism to fool everyone.

  6. brooksie says:

    I’m currently 35 weeks with my first baby and up 29 lbs. I was really struggling with the weight gain at first but I’ve just come to accept it. The weight will come off eventually. All I care about now is making sure my baby is as healthy as can be!

  7. Yup, Me says:

    She is absolutely gorgeous. She also is not changing conversations by herself. And it’s not just dreaming big that is supporting a beautiful white woman’s success in her industry.

  8. JanetFerber says:

    Love Ashley Graham and her husband! I’d LOVE to see more plus size models EVERYWHERE. I’d also love to see diversity in ALL models. If I had my druthers, I’d see less of Kendall, Bella, Gigi, Kaia, and Cara.

  9. Ash says:

    I’m sorry but I’m also very tall and put on a ton of wait due to depression/meds and then came a ton of issues. BP meds, thyroid meds, no energy, skin problems. I agree not everyone is going to have medical problems with weight gain, but also she’s so young. Yes I’m all for accepting and being proud of our bodies, but with a significant weight gain, there can be major issues, look at the growing obesity in children. I’m in the south and for sure more people are over than underweight here. Plz don’t jump down my throat-just up for your thoughts?

    • LindaS says:

      I agree. I am a slightly overweight 65 year old. Its not good to be overweight. As you get older medical issues start to come and its harder to lose the weight you need to lose. If you are overweight when you are young you could be heading to obese when you are older. I dont think its good to glamorize being overweight. And yes I know she is pregnant but I am just talking about people in general.

    • A.Key says:

      Yeah I totally agree. I don’t see why gaining 50 pounds is a cause for celebration for anyone, unless you were overly emaciated to begin with. If she keeps this weight it’ll cause health problems in the long run. Of course she doesn’t care now when she’s young and successful but it’ll bite her in the a** later on in life.

  10. StrawberryBlonde says:

    Before I got pregnant I had lost about 100lbs and kept it off for 5 years. I ate mindfully and exercised (ran) until 24 weeks pregnant. But all bodies react to pregnancy differently. I stopped looking at the scale but I was up at least 50lbs. Baby boy was 7lb8oz when he was born in March 2019. 2 weeks post partum I was still up 40lb from pre-pregnancy weight. But now 9.5 months later I am down 30lbs. So, getting there. I really want all my clothes to fit again!

    I had a hard time with my body image while pregnant. I wasn’t a fan of pregnancy. But looking back, I was pretty cute while pregnant.

  11. SamC says:

    Since none of us are her doctor or privy to those discussion, who are we to question her weight gain or passive aggressively fat shame her under the guise of caring about her, or her baby’s health? Every doctor, and patient, is different. Her trainer posts some of her workouts and honestly, I’m NOT pregnant and couldn’t keep up, it’s pretty impressive. She’s worked out with Lindsay Vonn a couple of times and kept right up with her and this was only a month or so ago and AG was pretty far along in her pregnancy.