Halsey is keeping it “very real” with their postpartum body. The 27-year-old musician performed on Saturday Night Live this weekend less than three months after giving birth to baby Ender Ridley on July 14, but took to Instagram Monday to clear up any misconceptions about how they appeared on camera so soon after giving birth.
“I am posting this because no matter what I do people are going to talk about my body. It is [a] confusing symptom of being in the public eye so rather than complain I am going to give you something real to talk about!” they captioned a timeline of photos showing their body just after giving birth leading up to now.ย
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Having performed on SNL, the “Without Me” artist noted how people were “quick to say how good I looked,” which was a “weird feeling.” They explained, “My body has felt like a stranger’s for a long time. I uphold myself to honesty to the point of over sharing sometimes but this feels important.” Pointing out that someone who has just given birth will “still look pregnant for a while after,” Halsey noted their body was “still changing” and they were allowing it to do so.
“I have no interest in working out right now. I’m too tired and too busy playing with my darling son,” they continued. “With that being said, the body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing, so I could feel good and do my job.” Halsey decided to come forward and talk about this issue so as not to “feed the illusion that you’re meant to feel and look ‘great’ immediately postpartum.”
“That is not my narrative currently,” they added. “If you’ve been following me because you’re also a parent and you dig what I’m doing, please know I’m in your corner. I will never have my ‘pre baby body back’ no matter how it changes physically because I have now had a baby! And that has altered me forever; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. That change is permanent. And I don’t want to go back!”
In the “spirit of honesty,” Halsey ended their message by getting real about motherhood in general. “I’m really tired and not a superhuman and this is really hard,” they concluded. “Doing my best to serve my art and my family whilst keeping it all so very real. Love.”