I’m constantly mum-shamed for posing in lingerie after having a baby – it’s cruel but I won’t stop, says Olivia Bowen
LOVE Island star Olivia Bowen said it is “disgusting” that she is being mum-shamed for posing in sexy lingerie after giving birth.
The new mum – who welcomed baby boy Abel last June with husband Alex Bowen – hit back at cruel trolls who slammed her underwear snaps, saying they are “narrow-minded” and “jealous”.
Many fans have praised Olivia, 29, for sharing body positive posts and for proudly showing off her “real” post-baby body.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, reality star Olivia said: “I get these awful comments that say that now that I am a mum that I can’t pose in lingerie – but it seems very narrow-minded for people to say that sort of thing.
“I just think you can be a mum, but you can also be you as well. I went to a hen do in St Tropez and it was amazing.
“I felt so disconnected from the ‘mum’ Olivia. But as women, we need to have both and I don’t understand why people feel the need to shun a woman wanting to be herself and wanting to be a mum at the same time.
“It’s completely fine. You know, how do you think a baby was made?
“Women are sexual creatures, just get over it. It is what it is. I do think it’s really funny because you literally have to have sex to have a baby and so there is nothing wrong with posing in sexy lingerie for a campaign.”
Olivia admitted that she’s become more resilient since becoming a mum – saying the abuse she experiences won’t stop her.
“I think it’s just boredom. Most of the bad comments online come from boredom or jealousy but having a baby has made me really not care what people say,” she explained.
“There are just bigger and better things in life than moaning about people that moan about you.
“When you become a mum as well, you just toughen up and you just think that actual fact I’ve got bigger things to worry about today….like Poo explosions.”
Olivia – who has become the new ambassador for Perky Pears – went onto say that she struggled with her body confidence after going from a size 8 to a size 14 during pregnancy.
She said: “I’m not gonna lie. I did really struggle with my body image and body confidence. I think because I was quite unconfident beforehand. It was just a big change.
“I think it was more me losing myself on the inside than dealing with how I looked on the outside, I just felt that I had completely lost every part of my personality.
“And I think it was just going through that huge change. And for me, fitness is so important.
“And working out is so important and I couldn’t do any of that. In turn, it made me really spiteful towards my body. Because I wasn’t able to move how I used to.
“I had so many stitches because of having an episiotomy and a forceps delivery so I did really struggle but now I’m back doing my hobbies and I’m riding, I feel so elated.
“I have been like that since the beginning of the year and I started PT twice a week, I started running twice a week, I was just all over it. Yeah, it’s something that I loved.
“And in turn, my body got fitter. And for me, I look better, maybe not for other people but I don’t care how other people see me.
“But for myself, I am just a lot fitter and stronger because I couldn’t ride my horse because I was so weak because of my abdominal muscles separating and the stitches and not using my muscles. I couldn’t do anything that I loved.”
Olivia opened up about her struggle to lose weight and learning to embrace her changing figure – including her boobs becoming a 32FF while pregnant.
“I was a size 8 prior to pregnancy and I went up to a size 14 during pregnancy and I am now a size 10, which I am really happy with,” Olivia said.
“I was a 32DD before I fell pregnant and a 32FF at the height of my pregnancy and I am now a 32D but my boobs are totally a different shape.”
Olivia has been sharing her motherhood journey with fans, including the highs and lows.
Speaking about baby blues as a result of not having control over her body, Olivia told us: “I was definitely hormonal and up and down but I think I was just coming to terms with everything and just struggling with the way that I looked.
“I had very sad days where I would cry all the time but I had very happy days.
“But that’s all part and parcel of the fourth trimester, which people seem to forget, you know, it’s part of being postpartum. It’s really hard.
” Since I’ve had a baby, I do question myself and I do struggle with the way that my figure has changed and I do have to force myself to feel confident at times.
“I used to worry about my body before I even had a baby and now, I am like Oh ‘my god, how was I moaning then? Women are never happy, are they?”
Olivia admitted she is learning to embraced her new figure and is in no rush to c
“You do have to find ways of building yourself up and that was why Perky Pears was such a natural thing for me to do because my boobs have changed so much since having a baby,” the mum-of-one said.
“Like they’re so different and I do feel they have given me that boost of confidence.
“So, when Perky Pears came to me and asked, ‘Do you want to do this? I thought, this is perfect’, because I always loved my outfits.”
Olivia admitted she wasn’t naturally a motherly person before having her son, so was not sure about breastfeeding initially.
“I was such an unmotherly person beforehand but I have done a complete 180,” the star said.
“I feel completely different now. But beforehand, I just really didn’t know how I was going to feel and I didn’t want to put on pressure on myself, but I ended up doing it for about five months and I loved it and it was a nice bonding experience.
“But I don’t get me wrong, it was very hard at times. I had engorgement and Abel wasn’t latching on but I’m really glad I was able to do it the amount of time that I did.”
Olivia made the decision to stop breastfeeding after six month and revealed her boobs deflated quite badly after and completed changed shape.
“One of my favourite things about myself has always been my boobs but I think after breastfeeding they naturally just lose their volume,” the blonde beauty explained.
“I mean my boobs have fed a baby so they’re never going to be the same size and the skin has just become more elastic.
“My boobs doubled in size when I was feeding Abel. They went up to a 32DD before I had Abel and I am three sizes smaller.
“They are just a different shape but Perky Pears do a great job of lifting them.”
Perky Pear allows you to wear the styles you love whilst feeling secure, without the restrictions of wearing a bra.
From day to night, their boob tape offers a secure yet comfortable hold due to its stretchy cotton material and strong adhesive. The J’adore Moi campaign is all about falling in love with your clothes again and feeling confident.