How Chrissy Teigen Learned to Embrace Her Body After Retiring as a Swimsuit Model

Chrissy Teigen wears many hats: She’s a cookbook author, a game-show host, the wife of John Legend and a mom. But before she was known for those accomplishments, her first venture into the spotlight was as a swimsuit model—most famously for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, which debuted in in 2010 and appeared on the cover of in 2014.

But life as a swimsuit model wasn’t completely glamorous. Now, almost a decade after her Sports Illustrated debut, Teigen is opening up about the pressure she felt to look good in a swimsuit and how she’s finally letting that go. In an interview with Women’s Health, the 32-year-old looked back on her career as a model and what she’s learned about her body and her relationship with it—10 years and two children later.

“Honestly, I don’t ever have to be in a swimsuit again,” Teigen said. “Since I was 20 years old, I had this weight in my mind that I am, or that I’m supposed to be. I’ve been so used to that number for 10 years now. And then I started realizing it was a swimsuit-model weight. There’s a very big difference between wanting to be that kind of fit and wanting to be happy-fit.”

Source: Instagram

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Teigen also opened up about her changing body after having two children, a 2-year-old daughter named Luna and a 3-month-old son named Miles, whom she gave birth to in May. Specifically, Teigen talked about how her boobs have changed and how she hasn’t really noticed until she’s around others. “With your second, you just, like, pop ’em on,” Teigen said. “I look at my boobs and I’m like, ‘What the heck happened?’ They face outwards now. They’re like giant disks. I don’t even know how to hide them. I forget that people are still like, ‘Whoa!’ And I don’t mean to shove my boob in their faces.”

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We can always trust Teigen to keep it real. She isn’t known as one of the internet’s most relatable celebrities for nothing.