‘Let your body be a body!’ Anne Hathaway took three years to recover after pregnancy

Anne Hathaway has said it took "three years" for her to fully recover after giving birth.

The actress — who shares sons Jonathan, seven, and Jack, three, with husband Adam Shulman — said she refused to rush her recovery or "snap back" after pregnancy.

The Devil Wears Prada star, 40, also encouraged women to avoid unrealistic expectations and prioritise self-care.

"People don’t talk about this, and it really made me feel better when I found out about it," she told People magazine.

"It takes three years for your body to fully recover from a pregnancy. I didn’t snap back. I want to be very, very clear about that.

“With my second [son Jack], it took every minute of those three years. Let your body be a body. There’s nowhere to get to.

“It’s just now. Be present and take care of yourself and don’t set expectations."

The actress also made the decision to quit alcohol nearly a decade ago in her journey to "self-care".

Hathaway, pictured at May’s Bulgari show, said it took three years for her to recover from her second pregnancy (Getty Images for Bulgari)

"In my thirties, I had to give up alcohol," she said. "I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t lead the life that I wanted while drinking.

“And in my forties, I’m finding I have to support myself differently nutritionally.

"I want to go back and talk to my 25-year-old self who felt like she didn’t have to do anything and just be like, ‘Oh honey, honey, there’s a whole other world out there and it tastes like an avocado’."

Hathaway also spoke about getting older and how that also incites unrealistic expectations.

“Ageing is just another word for living,” she said. “And what you do with it from there is personal and up to you.

“I feel great — I feel better than I did in my twenties because I’m taking much better care of myself.”

Hathaway showed off her trim figure alongside and actor Jared Leto at the Met Gala (Getty Images)

However, she added: “If people want to pay you a compliment, that’s nice. But also, whatever the hype is, I’m interested in what’s beyond the concept of hype.”

She also opened up about the importance of having a skincare routine.

​​”I have tried to invest in my skin as I observed from the women in my family that my skin would be something that would take care of me if I took care of it,” she said.

“I now understand my skin to be connected to my overall health and well-being.

“Over a long timeline, it becomes apparent that beauty is definitely something that comes from within.”