Ashley Graham Isn’t Here for Mom-Shaming | Marie Claire

Hello? Oh, Marie Claire? It's not every day you get to wear feathers. Hey, it's your girl Ashley Graham, and we're shooting my cover for Marie Claire, The Motherhood Issue. Every day is a new day for me. When it comes to mantras, it has to be a feeling, but the ones that I started off with when I first started modeling was, you are bold, you are brilliant, and you are beautiful. Some mornings are, it's okay, you've got this, you're a survivor. On my getting ready playlist, I like to listen I do a lot of like house, upbeat, old school, like give me a little Aretha, but like a house Aretha. Give me a little Bill Withers, but like mix it up and put me in the club. I wanna be in Ibiza on a yacht, but like while I'm in my bathroom putting on makeup. A misconception about modeling that I'm gonna clear up right now is, I mean, where do I begin? That we're stupid, that you have to be thin, that we get paid a ton of money all the time, that we're given things. You think I got given this Chanel? No, no, not yet. I'm gonna call Matthew after this though. For me, a green flag in a model is the girl backstage who's gonna help you tie your shoe up or put your bra strap up or fix your outfit till you've got lipstick on your teeth. And a red flag in a model, it says catty bitches. A moment that I still think about and I put myself back in those shoes all the time is when I was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and the curtain fell from the ceiling and there I was in all my glory on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It was the moment that changed my life forever. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Oh, my work wives. Well, I have about five or six of them. Amanda, Lucy, Megan, Marissa, Maja, could you please step in? It takes a village, people. Advice for moms who are mommying and also working, you're not alone. Yes, you're gonna have meltdowns, but at the end of the day, if you can create some kind of balance, qualities of the best moms are the moms who don't shame other moms, because mom shaming is not cool. I learned something from my mom, which was that mommy knows best. She told me that one time when I had my first kid, Isaac. She said, at the end of the day, if you don't have anybody that you can ask anyone for advice or you don't trust anybody, just remember your gut is correct because it's your baby and you're the mom. Mommy knows best. My definition of success has really changed. It used to be, how much am I working? How hard am I working? And all work, work, work, work, work. Now my definition of success is how happy am I, how calm in my spirit am I, and am I doing things that I truly love and want to do? I made it moment. Oh, I often think of this one because it's kind of like a pinch me. The Barbie, the Ashley Graham Barbie that has round hips, round arms, big old titties and a big old ass. Thanks for coming to my Marie Claire cover shoot. Oh, can we get some Lucci? Three, two, one.