- Hailey Bieber says she experienced postpartum body dysmorphia after giving birth.
- It took her some time to accept that her body wouldn't look the way it used to.
- "You're not the same person that you were before. You change head to toe," she said.
Hailey Bieber is done pretending that becoming a new mom is easy.
In an interview with Vogue published on Tuesday, the Rhode Skin founder spoke about her childbirth and postpartum experiences. In August, she welcomed her son, Jack Blues, with her husband, Justin Bieber.
Bieber told Vogue that she struggled with postpartum body dysmorphia after giving birth.
"When people talk about 'bouncing back' — back where, because my hips are wider, my boobs are actually bigger than they were before. They did not go back. And great, I'll take it, but it's not the same body that it was before," Bieber said.
She added that she fell into the cycle of looking up mean comments online about her appearance, only to end up feeling even worse about herself.
It took her some time to accept that her body wouldn't look how it used to, she said.
"You're not the same person that you were before. You change head to toe. And I think there was a minute where I kept really hyper-fixating on getting back to what I was. And then I had to go through that acceptance of, I'm not going back. So it's really about how do I want to move forward? Who do I want to be?" Bieber said.
Her difficult postpartum journey was compounded by the internet rumours surrounding her marriage.
She said people speculating online that she was going through a divorce made it even worse. "I cannot even begin to explain it. It's a crazy life to live," she said.
"Being postpartum is the most sensitive time I've ever gone through in my life, and learning a new version of myself is very difficult," Bieber said.
Postpartum typically refers to the first six to eight weeks after giving birth. During that time, a lot changes in a woman's body. New moms might deal with things like breast engorgement or vaginal bleeding, and some also experience postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety.
Bieber isn't the only celebrity mom who has spoken about her postpartum experience.
Lindsay Lohan said in a March 2024 interview that she doesn't feel pressured to "snap back" to her old body after giving birth.
"I feel like everything always comes full circle again, so this is that moment, and this, too, shall pass," she said.
In a March interview, Ashley Tisdale said that welcoming her second child was a chance to experience motherhood again since she felt "robbed" of her first experience due to postpartum depression, or PPD.
A representative for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
