Former Page 3 girl Sam Smalling opens up about her medical condition which makes her look six months pregnant
When one looks at the picture posted by Sam Smalling they would think she is making a pregnancy announcement but there is more to story than that.
Sam posted a picture in which she was seen wearing a fitted red dress while keeping her one hand on her belly, she had a strong message that she wanted to share with people.
In a series of pictures she posted, Sam wrote, "Before you congratulate me, please read on." Sam wanted people to know that even though it looked like she was 6 months pregnant, it was actually her body reacting to a medical condition called IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome).
It's taken some guts for me to post this but hopefully it's for a good cause and people won't be cruel," she wrote.
"Instagram is so bad for making girls feel insecure, so many filters, editing and 'best angles'. Then we compare the images we see to our unedited real life and often feel like [poo emoji]. So here's some reality for ya!" she added.
Sam added that over the years she had learned to accept her body and thus decided to come forward and talk about her condition.
"A year ago there's not a chance I would have posted this, but as I'm getting older I'm starting to accept what is and care less about being judged," she added.
Sam admitted that were often times when she used to starve herself right before her modeling shoots. "I eat well and exercise, I'm a healthy weight, and pretty toned but when I get bloated I literally feel awful," she said.
She continued, "It's uncomfortable and sometimes painful but the worst part is I feel super unattractive. It affects the clothes I buy and wear because although I can breathe in, I can't breathe in 24/7 (especially after about 5-10 brandy and cokes). I modeled for ten years and would starve myself before every shoot or breath in and hope the photographer was good with photoshop lol."
She concluded the post by expressing her support towards others who suffer from the same. "So if you suffer from IBS or any other problem that causes your body to do embarrassing things just know you're not the only one," she wrote. "Everyone has their struggles even if they're not obvious to see on social media. Focus on your good bits, focus on your growth and as I've heard 'never compare your behind-the-scenes to other people's highlight reel'."