Blake Lively opens up about struggling to find clothes that fit after pregnancy: ‘I felt insecure’

'It doesn't send a great message to women when their bodies don't fit into what brands have to offer’

Blake Lively opens up about feeling ‘insecure’ finding clothes that fit after pregnancy (Getty Images for Michael Kors)

Blake Lively has opened up about the insecurities she felt after being unable to find clothes that fit her after giving birth to her and Ryan Reynolds’ third child.

On Friday, the Gossip Girl star shared a series of throwback photos of the outfits she’d worn over the past year, after welcoming her youngest daughter Betty in October 2019.

In one of the photos, which sees Lively during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 33-year-old reflected on some of the frustrations she felt over clothing sizes at the time.

"I put together a @lavinoffical shirt and dress from @netaporter to make this pretty outfit," Lively wrote. “Because no one had samples that fit me after giving birth.

“And so many clothes from stores didn’t fit either. So. Many.”

In the post, the A Simple Favor actress said the inability to find clothes that fit her post-pregnancy body does not “send a great message” to women.

“It doesn’t send a great message to women when their bodies don’t fit into what brands have to offer,” Lively continued, calling it “alienating and confusing”.

The actress, who also shares daughters James, six, and Inez, four, with Reynolds, then reflected on the confidence she feels now, explaining that she wished she had felt the same way about her body then.

Blake Lively opens up about feeling ‘insecure’ about clothing sizes after giving birth (Instagram)

“I wish I felt as confident then as I do now, a year later looking back,” she wrote. “That body gave me a baby. And was producing that baby’s entire food supply. What a beautiful miracle.”

However, according to Lively, rather than feeling proud at what her body was capable of, at the time, she felt “insecure”.

“Simply because I didn’t fit into clothes. How silly is that in retrospect,” she added.

The actress concluded the post expressing her gratitude to Katie Sturino, the founder of body-positive brand Megababe, who Lively said is “challenging brands to do better, helping women to not feel alone” and reminding her that “we can all ask better from brands we love”.

During the interview with Fallon, which took place in January 2020, Lively confirmed that she and Reynolds had welcomed their third child, telling the host: “I sure did [have another baby]. I have so many children! Yeah, it's a bit of a tough adjustment in our house, but it's good.”