Halsey Opens Up About Postpartum Body With Candid Photos
After Halsey's October 9 performance on "SNL," the singer was flooded with people saying how good they looked after giving birth to baby Ender on July 14, the 27-year-old recently shared on Instagram.
"That was a weird feeling," she wrote. "My body has felt like a stranger's for a long time. I uphold myself to honesty to the point of oversharing sometimes, but this feels important."
"[N]o matter what I do people are going to talk about my body," Halsey added, saying that she wants to make sure people get the story right.
In a series of photographs accompanying the candid text, Halsey showed what their postpartum journey has really been like these last three months. "The first picture on this slide is days after my baby was already born," they wrote. "A lot of people don't know that you still look pregnant for a while after. It is still changing and I am letting it."
Like many new parents, exercise in the weeks following giving birth hasn't been top-of-mind for Halsey. "I have no interest in working out right now. I'm too tired and too busy playing with my darling son."
Halsey then explained just how their "SNL" look was achieved: "...the body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom-tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing, so I could feel good and do my job."
"I do not want to feed the illusion that you're meant to feel and look 'great' immediately postpartum. That is not my narrative currently," Halsey stressed, then added she has embraced their post-baby body.
'A lot of people don't know that you still look pregnant for a while after. It is still changing and I am letting it.'
"I will never have my 'pre-baby body back' no matter how it changes physically because I have now had a baby! And that has altered me forever; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. That change is permanent. And I don't want to go back!"
But that doesn't mean it's been easy. "I'm really tired and not a superhuman, and this is really hard," Halsey concluded. "Doing my best to serve my art and my family whilst keeping it all so very real. Love."
An outpouring of support followed from fans and celebrities alike. "Seriously—thank you for showing the beauty that is motherhood," wrote one follower. "We are all so hard on ourselves, mentally and physically, to ensure we look exactly like we did pre-pregnancy. It's exhausting."
Another fan added, "Struggling w/pregnancy changes rn and i really needed this."
Fellow singer Nelly Furtado chimed in to say, "Three childbirths in, I have been through many similar feelings and appreciate your share. The way the world equates extreme self-discipline with beatitude needs to die. It's a lie."
You can see more on Halsey's life as a new parent on Instagram, and read more real stories and information about postpartum life here.
