Victoria’s Secret Model Candice Swanepoel Celebrates What a Postpartum Body Actually Looks Like

This goes without saying, but the internet is a vicious place—especially for celebrities. It seems that with every image posted, celebrities are criticized without mercy, particularly when it comes to their looks. Sadly, the latest victim of this type of online bullying is none other than Victoria’s Secret model Candice Swanepoel, who just gave birth to her second child earlier this month. 

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After a series of paparazzi photos showing off Swanepoel's postpartum body became public, people immediately began commenting on her new physique. The images in question display Swanepoel on a beach wearing a bikini, with each picture intending to highlight that her body has changed after giving birth.

“This is me 12 days after having my son,” Swanepoel wrote on her Instagram stories, reposting the side-by-side images. “I’m not ashamed to show my postpartum tummy, I am proud actually,” she added. “I carried my son for 9 months in there, I think I’ve earned the right to have a little tummy…is it because I’m a model? Well we are normal people too so let me enjoy the beach in peace please.”

Swanepoel followed up her post with another side-by-side paparazzi shot, showing an image of herself on the beach while late into her pregnancy.

“I don’t have to hide my stomach just because people have unrealistic standards of woman,” she captioned the post. “We create life..what can you do? Ladies we are all in this together…be kind to each other.”

Ultimately, the criticism of Swanepoel’s postpartum body is just further proof of the insanely unrealistic beauty standards women are held to every day—even after a major event like giving birth. Plus, Swanepoel's changed physique looks absolutely incredible and should be celebrated instead of criticized. Kudos to Swanepoel speaking out against the unfair and unkind criticism that she’s been put through after giving birth. After all, celebrities are human, just like the rest of us.