Victoria's Secret model Bridget Malcolm says she was 'at war' with her body in viral blog post
You may have seen Bridget Malcolm take the runway for Victoria's Secret, or in one of her numerous fashion week campaigns, but the Australian model is making headlines another reason: The body-positive message she's sharing with the world.
On Tuesday, the 26-year-old beauty posted a throwback bikini shot from one of her modeling campaigns to Instagram. "This girl is not fat. I remember around when this photo was taken, I had been told that I needed to lose weight. Not for the first time and not for the last time. Always fun trying to act like you’re confident and happy in swimwear when you’re at war with your body...," she captioned the photo:
Malcolm also took to her blog to supplement her message and explain that over the course of the past year, she's tossed dieting in an effort to "make peace" with her body. It's a mindset that's taken her awhile to become comfortable with and a journey she's struggled with since the start of her career.
"This post has been a long time coming. Both on the blog and in my life. It makes me nervous, because in writing this I am letting a whole part of my self fall away; in cutting out an aspect of identity there is left negative space," she began.
"This can feel like you’ve missed a step on a staircase. Or you have been pushed out of an aircraft sans parachute. But that’s ok – it has been a long journey to get me to this point, and I am not afraid of sharing it with you all. And when we have space in our lives, there is endless opportunity for new. Which is life."
See the model over her career:
Twelve years of being told to lose weight took a toll on the young model. So in August, Bridget knew something had to change.
"In August this year I made myself a promise. It was time to make peace with my body. I threw away my scales, my measuring tape and my body checking. I threw away all my clothes from when I was at my smallest. I deleted all the gym selfies from my instagram, and all of the “progress” shots from my phone. Basically, I wanted no point of reference any more of a time when I was smaller, or larger. I just wanted to stop looking in mirrors and telling myself that I was “too fat”, and “not doing enough”.
She continued, seemingly alluding to the pressures of the fashion world, the scrutinizing eyes of the public and demands of her career.
"I cannot tell you how many times I went to bed with my head whirling – trying to get me to latch onto how much I ate at dinner, or during the day, or trying to convince myself to change my diet, start training hard again, start tracking my size, just start doing more. It felt like two steps forward, one and three quarters step back," she explained.
Bridget later concluded with the "best part" of her journey.
"I have gained weight. And I do not give a fuck about it. My life is so much more than my jean size. And every day when that voice in my head tries to tell me I am worthless, it gets a little easier to shut it down. I am setting myself free slowly."
You can read the entirety of Bridget's poignant blog post here.
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