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Ashley Graham praised for 'normalising stretch marks' in nude photo
Supermodel Ashley Graham is being praised for 'normalising stretch marks' in a powerful nude photo she shared online.
The 34-year-old is embracing the changes to her body during her second pregnancy with twin boys, regularly sharing the progress of her baby bump online, this time revealing how her husband Justin Ervin likened her marks to a 'tree of life'.
"Justin says my stretch marks look like the tree of life," she captioned the post, which has received thousands of likes and comments.
The photo shows a nude Ashley posing in her bathroom with an emphasis on the stripes across her belly.
She also shared another version of the photo on her Instagram Stories, and many of her followers clearly agreed with Justin's sentiment.
"The female body is a miracle. And yup he's right nothing more beautiful," fellow model and mum Iskra Lawrence commented.
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"That's really beautiful and true. Mother Nature," another person wrote.
“Thank you @ashleygraham for normalising stretch marks,” added another fan.
“You look stunning mama. I got deep ones with both of my children and I am now so self conscious of my tummy. Thank you for showing stretch marks to be fierce and beautiful.”
Ashley — who is already a mother to one-year-old Isaac — has been open about her journey as she grows with the two babies, sharing in a YouTube video that her belly grew five inches over seven days in November.
"Insane," she said. "That made me realise how quickly my body is changing and growing and how I've had to make so many conscious shifts every day to make sure that I'm maintaining a balance that really works for me."
"I've learned so much, even this time around, about my body and what it takes to keep my mind and my body nourished for myself and for these big old boys inside here," she continued.
In the meantime, she's sharing what she can as she awaits the arrival of babies two and three, which she and Justin announced in September.
Earlier this week, Ashely also shared a time-lapse video of a prenatal yoga session, where she can be seen doing a series of poses including cat-cow and warrior. Yoga is something she did during her pregnancy with her son, Isaac, who was born last January.
“With this pregnancy, I haven’t even weighed myself because I just don’t want to know,” the model told PopSugar last month.
“And it’s been really beneficial for me because my health isn’t determined by my weight.”
“I know that I’m taking great care of myself and the boys, but there is this constant conversation that I’m having with myself, like: ‘Your body is a vessel. Your body is strong. Your body is meant to do this."
Additional reporting by Kerry Justich.
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