Outlander actress Nell Hudson has received an outpouring of support from fans after bravely sharing her difficult pregnancy journey and struggles with body image. The 34-year-old star, best known for playing Laoghaire MacKenzie in the hit time-travel drama, took to Instagram to reveal her honest feelings about her changing body during her first pregnancy with husband Maximillian King.
In a candid post accompanied by black-and-white photos of herself pregnant, Hudson admitted she had hoped to feel 'in awe' of her body like many mothers describe, but instead struggled with feeling 'too big' and 'out of proportion'. She confessed to battling an eating disorder 'a long time ago' and said she believed she would feel 'fine' if she had a baby, but that didn't happen during pregnancy.
The actress criticised modern beauty standards, saying women are 'force fed, like geese bred for foie gras, images of thinness as beauty – even and including pregnant thinness'. She admitted being 'embarrassed to say' that even at her smallest, she wasn't happy with her appearance, but declared that has now changed.
Hudson revealed that her confidence and self-love came after giving birth, not before. 'I have never felt more confident, healed, beautiful, whole, amazing and actually just NOT FUSSED about how my body looks,' she wrote. 'Yes I grew a 9lb baby but my bum, whilst large, is still somehow completely flat. Hooray. Hooray for my healthy beautiful body.'
Fans flooded the post with supportive comments, many sharing their own experiences with eating disorders and body image struggles. One wrote: 'I got my bulimia in control when I had kids 20 years ago, I still have the odd blip at 54 but generally the older I get the more thankful I am to be alive in this imperfect body of mine.'
If you have been affected by the issues mentioned in this article, call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch for confidential support.
