Model Responds to Body Shamers With Positive Message: ‘Now, I Literally Love the Life I Live’
You may know Irish model and actress Maeve Madden from a scene-stealing appearance in The Crown as a waitress who catches Prince Phillip’s eye in the Netflix show. But she’s also gaining attention for sharing her battle with body acceptance and journey to health on Instagram.
“I have never felt more healthy Happy and confident in myself than i do right now,” declared London-based Madden in an inspiring Instagram post, where her side-by-side photos received more than 5,000 likes.
“I look at these 2 pictures & I can literally see how miserable I was. As a model I felt so much pressure to be skinny and I had no idea just how much damage I was doing to myself. I was underweight, my HAIR was so broken and thin, i had terrible acne, I couldn’t sleep, my anxiety was shocking as for my diet, Eating healthy fats and protein every day was a huge no no, I counted every calorie, and killed myself in the gym doing hours of cardio.”
Madden’s fans jumped to her support, posting dozens of positive comments. “You look amazing and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise,” wrote one. Another shared, “You look unreal!! So much healthier!! #goals”
Others noted how inspiring they find Madden’s commitment to a healthy lifestyle. “One day you motivate me to kick a** at my workouts and the next day you slip up so I don’t feel as bad … you’re only human,” one commented.
Another chimed in with a similar personal experience, adding, “I’ve never been happier since I stopped weighing myself and obsessing over every calorie. I train hard and try to keep it clean although I fall off the wagon at times and I love wine but I’ve stopped giving myself a hard time and have finally got the healthy balance between mind and body!”
The model responded to the outpouring, writing, “omg just woke up and im in such a great mood now reading your message… thank you so much.”
Madden tells Yahoo Beauty that she decided to run the personal post because after she shared a Snapchat story in which she looked “more curvy than usual,” she received a number of messages calling her fat and saying she gained too much weight. “I of course laughed it off but you can’t help but feel a little hurt from the sting of online negativity,” she says.
Madden’s main goal was to remind other women to ignore the negative comments and love themselves. “The most beautiful thing a woman can wear is confidence and sharing that message is so important to me in today’s ‘fakestagram’ society.”
“As a model before I was very thin and felt the pressure in the industry to stay so slim. I was so unhappy and had zero confidence, as I was being judged on a daily basis due to my looks. Now, having moved into the blogging and fitness world, I love my job and felt a need to share my story … living the life you want to live,” she tells Yahoo Beauty. “I believe that everyone should have their own body goals, no one has the perfect body, and that each person’s goals are about being the best version of themselves. My goal was to be more athletic, fitter, healthier, and happier. I love being more muscular and feeling strong. No one deserves to be shamed for being a little more curvy!”
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