'Bachelor' Alum Bekah Martinez Reveals Inspiring Reason for Not Shaving Legs in Red Carpet Photos

08/19/2019 02:58 pm EDT

Bachelor alum Bekah Martinez let her leg hairs show with pride on the red carpet, but not by accident, it was an intentional move and an act of "self-love."

"I went to a red carpet event without shaving my legs!" she shared in a photo of herself alongside fellow Bachelor stars Kendall Long and Corinne Olympios.

"This may sound really dumb, it was a big deal for me. I've finally gotten to the point where I feel (almost) totally comfortable like this," she added.

She continued to share that she stopped shaving her legs and armpits "about a year ago as a practice of self-love," saying, "I grew up HATING the hair on my body. I was teased for it, snuck my mom's razor at age 9, would pray that god would remove the hair from the neck down."

While this time around it was an act of "self-love," it wasn't always like that. The anxiety surrounding the amount of hair she grew would send the 24-year-old into a downward spiral. It got so bad at one point in time that Martinez would "panic every time I got invited to go swimming and hadn't shaved."

What changed the game for the young reality star was her daughter Ruthie Ray, 6 months.

"When I got pregnant, I decided to work to overcome this insecurity. It's not about 'not believing in shaving,' it's about believing I AM BEAUTIFUL, ATTRACTIVE AND 'FEMININE' NO MATTER WHERE I HAVE HAIR ON MY BODY," she said. "It's about showing girls you don't have to listen when society tells you your natural features are ugly or gross."

"It has taken months to get use to it," she added. "The horrible online comments don't help. But I'm getting there."

She wrapped up her thoughts on a positive note, saying, "Remember, if someone has a problem with the way you look, that's an issue with THEIR mentality, not YOUR body."

Something else she's a firm believer in is background checks on gun sales. She took to Instagram to air her thoughts and while there were many mixed opinions, she received a lot of support.

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