Gigi Hadid has spoken about how much she misses her curvier body after a thyroid disease caused her to lose weight, and the effect body shaming comments have had on her.
The supermodel has spoken openly about her battle with the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s, and attributed that to her significant weight loss.
Speaking to her friend Blake Lively in Harper’s Bazaar, she said: “Most of it is just nonsense. But it can still hurt.
“Nowadays, people are quick to say, ‘I used to love Gigi’s body, and now she just gave in.’ But I’m not skinny because I gave in to the industry.
“When I had a more athletic figure, I was proud of my body because I was an amazing volleyball player and horseback rider.
“But after discovering that I have Hashimoto’s, I needed to eat healthy and work out. It was weird as a teenager, dealing with this when all of my friends could eat McDonald’s and it wouldn’t affect them.”
She added: “If I could choose, I would have my ass back and I would have the tits I had a few years ago.
“But, honestly, we can’t look back with regret. I loved my body then, and I love my body now.
“Whoever is reading this, I want you to realise that three years from now you will look back at a picture from this time period and be like: ‘Wow, I was so hot. Why did I feel so bad about myself because of some stupid thing someone said?’”
The model also said it was important for young people to understand that the images they see “are not real life”.
Lively added: “Exactly. It’s so important for young people not to compare themselves with what they see online.
“It’s our job as actors and/or models to be in shape. We have access to gyms and trainers and healthy food.
“And then on top of that, 99.9% of the time the images are Photoshopped. I’m guilty myself of being at a photo shoot and saying, ‘That looks terrible on me.’ And they’re like, ‘We’ll fix it.’ And you’re so relieved.”
She continued: “It’s fun to try on the trends and enjoy the fantasy aspect of fashion and beauty.
“But my dream is for all images to have a little asterisk next to them with a caption that reads, this photo has been retouched. Just so there’s a gentle reminder that, hey, this isn’t real life.
“Think of editorials or ads as a painting, an art form. I mean, that’s definitely not how we wake up looking every single day of our lives.”