Ashley Graham is proudly showing off her stretch marks at the 2022 MTV VMAs.
The model and mother of three arrived at this year’s MTV VMAs at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey wearing a black, cut-out dress from Houghton by Katharine Polk. The mid-length bodycon dress also featured a halter neckline and ruched fabric held with silver hardware.
As she walked the award show red carpet, Graham gave Access Hollywood details about her cutout fashion statement and the empowering decision to bare her stretch marks.
“I haven’t been on a live stage in years,” the model said. “The pandemic, the babies, the breastfeeding. It’s like what?”
After revealing the New York-based designer behind her dress, Graham said, “But my stretch marks are out.”
However, that didn’t stop her from embracing her sexy side at the VMAs. “I’m like, ‘OK, here we go, stretch marks! Let’s go!’” she added.
Graham continued: “I’m going to show it all off, like in the photos and in real life! I feel sexy and hot and I’m like, ‘Wait, I do have eight month old twins at home.’”
The 34-year-old supermodel isn’t one to shy away from untouched and unfiltered photos. Graham – who gave birth to twins Malachi and Roman in January – shared a mirror selfie to her Instagram in April showing off her postpartum tummy.
“Hi, new tummy. We’ve been through a lot. Thank you,” she captioned the post, adding in the hashtag that she was three months postpartum. Five months after welcoming her twin boys, Graham shared a reel praising her body in the mirror and reminding fellow mothers that their bodies are “beautiful in its realest form”.
“Posting this video for all the mamas who haven’t and may never ‘bounce back’ and for anyone who needs to be reminded that your body is beautiful in its realest form,” she wrote. “This is my strong, five-month-postpartum-been-pregnant-for-two-years body. As it is. In hopes to further normalise ALL bodies in every and any stage of life.”
The body positivity icon has been open about her stretch marks in the past. After the birth of her eldest son Isaac in 2020, Graham explained to Elle how the changes her body went through during pregnancy made her feel like a “superhero” as a result.
“When I look at my new stretch marks and the changes that my body went through, it reminds me that, as women, we’re all superheroes,” she told Kristen Bell as part of Elle’s first-ever digital issue. “I’m always reminded that our bodies were built to do this. It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to give birth, but I didn’t realise it until afterward.”
Ashley Graham shares three sons – Isaac, two, and twins Roman and Malachi, eight months – with her husband, Justin Ervin.
