Jess Hardiman
Shaughna Phillips has been praised by fans after sharing an unedited video in a bid to be a strong ‘role model’ for her daughter.
Shaughna, 29, often shares updates about motherhood on Instagram as she raises daughter Lucia as a single mum, following the incarceration of ex Billy Webb.
Along with grappling with the ‘guilt’ of raising her child without Billy in the picture – taking Lucia to see him in prison once a week so that the pair can still have a relationship – the former Love Island star has also been open about her struggles with being a good role model for her daughter, particularly when it comes to body image.
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Speaking about the topic on her Oh Baby! podcast a few months back, she explained how she’d had to bat off hatred online from trolls commenting about her weight.
“I've literally said to my friends, I'm not going out until I've lost weight,” she said.
“And I know that's such a toxic way to think, but I don't know how to navigate trying to lose weight, trying to look after this baby, trying to do it in the public eye.”
She added: “The thought of Lucia ever thinking that she's too skinny, too fat, she needs to lose weight, ever thinking that she's anything but perfection.
“I'm trying not to cry right now. The thought of her ever feeling about herself the way I feel about myself...”
Shaughna is now being praised online after sharing a ‘truthful’ video about her relationship with her body and her ‘baby weight’, having uploaded a video of her speaking to the camera defiantly in her underwear.
“I’ve been meaning to post this for aaaagesssss, and I just kept chickening out which sounds ridiculous but it’s the truth,” she explained in the caption.
“This is not easy for me, it’s hard to just be yourself when social media can be SO cruel at times.”
For ‘full disclosure’, she added that she wasn’t in the place that she wanted to be physically, and had ‘baby weight’ to lose, but no longer wanted to let ‘intrusive thoughts’ impact her living her life.
“I really want to be the best role model I can be for Lucia, and I’m so determined that she won’t grow up with the same warped view on body image as I did, and that’s starts with me,” Shaughna vowed..
“I know it’s a bit late for New Year’s resolutions, but I’m sure we all have room for one more. Here’s to getting real in 2024, who wants to join me?”
In the clip, she said that what fans were seeing was the ‘real’ Shaughna.
“I’ve had body confidence issues probably forever, but they seem to have just exacerbated since I’ve had my baby,” she added.
“But I wanted to show you that, do you know what? It doesn’t matter and it doesn’t control you.
“So this is me in all of my glory.”
Commenting on the post, one fan said Shaughna was a role model not just for Lucia, but also ‘so many others’.
Someone else said: “This is so what I needed! Mom bod is so hard to come to terms with! And there's so many people that spring back into their clothes days after birth and it gets portrayed that it's normal for everyone when it's not! I love how real you are! We need more of this. You're so beautiful.”
A third wrote: “You’re beautiful. Always remember what your body did, we take it for granted so much. Thank you for being transparent and honest.”