This was one of Herald Lifestyle's most read stories in 2019.
Two of Australia's biggest bikini influencers have shared a super relatable snap of them in their swimmers that has earned praise from their thousands of followers.
Ariella Nyssa took to Instagram to share a photo of her with fellow bikini babe Karina Irby as the pair splashed about in a swimming pool.
The gorgeous snap was taken while the pair were on a photo shoot, modelling for Karina's swimwear brand, Moana Bikinis, reports news.com.au.
/arc-anglerfish-syd-prod-nzme.s3.amazonaws.com/public/Q3GNS73DE5BGNOWH65Z3ZDX3S4.jpg)
But it's not the colourful cossies that has caught the attention of Ariella's 291,000 followers — it's the fact both women have "bloated" bellies and they're proudly showing them off.
"Wait you don't think bloating is cute?" Ariella captioned the photo.
"NEWS FLASH: bloating is normal and just because I don't have a six pack doesn't mean I'm not beautiful."
The Sydney model went on to encourage her followers to not feel "embarrassed or ashamed" if they didn't have a flat stomach all day everyday.
"You bloat, I bloat, EVERYBODY BLOATS! Don't you dare feel inferior for it," she said.
/arc-anglerfish-syd-prod-nzme.s3.amazonaws.com/public/HCN2VH3I55E35K6JYKNF5LJO3A.jpg)
The positive and empowering message has clearly struck a cord with Ariella's followers, with hundreds leaving messages thanking her for sharing the "real" photo.
"Seeing these posts make me so happy," one said.
"True words. Stunning girls," another wrote.
"So nice to see bodies like mine on my feed along with all the other unique and stunning bodies of other shapes and sizes," one fan shared.
While another wrote: "Love your powerful message."
READ MORE:
• Inside the life of a Kmart influencer
• Influencer blames Instagram for $20k holiday debt
• Premium - Influencer marketing industry 'booming': inaugural NZ report
• The insane price influencer Tammy Hembrow charges for every Instagram post
Others praised Ariella for "keeping it real" — something she and Karina have been known for doing in the past.
Earlier this month Ariella — who is about to launch a new swimwear line with Australian e-store Beginning Boutique — posted about suffering with bloating, describing the bug bear as "cute AF".
In August however, Ariella became the target of cruel trolls who bombarded her with hateful comments and personal messages about her body, causing her to take a lengthy break from Instagram.
"WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE THIS. Why are brands trying to make us feel like crap if we don't represent their 'ideal' interpretations of bodies," she said.
"I actually cannot believe that this has gone on for so long and I'm so angry with myself for accepting this as the norm for years."
Ariella, who is well known for fighting for acceptance and representation of bodies of all shapes and sizes, had recently spoken out about the fact brands had refused to work with her because of her size.
"Shouldn't we all feel beautiful enough to wear clothing from ALL brands. How ridiculous. I didn't realise how bad all of this was until this week," she said in a lengthy Instagram Stories video.
"I didn't realise the extent that the industry and social media have warped and manipulated our brains into thinking you have to look or be a certain way to LOVE the way you look and be represented in the media."
Karina is on a similar crusade to empower women and fight brutal body standards in the industry, recently telling her 1 million followers she'd gained 10kgs and "never felt better".
Karina accompanied her honest post with two photographs, one showing her at 54kgs and the other as she is now, a healthy 64kgs.
She then detailed the difference between the two photos to her one million fans, welcoming the presence of "boobs, butt, hip and thighs".
"This morning Facebook notified me of a memory from 9 years ago. I was so shocked to see how tiny I used to be when I was a teenager!"
She went on to describe how she felt when her body started to change, making her feel "self-conscious".
"I remembered that as my body was maturing I was gaining weight, curves and more fake reasons to feel self conscious about my appearance," Karina wrote.
"I used to put so much pressure on myself to try and keep my teenager look but not only was it unhealthy, it just wasn't in the cards for me."
After gaining 10kgs, she said: "I've never felt better about myself mentally and physically.
"What I'm trying to say is stop being so hard on yourself. You're body is beautiful and it's keeping you alive! Worship the heck out of it! I wish I did sooner."
