Halsey shares message about postpartum body after SNL praise: ‘I do not want to feed the illusion’

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Halsey has spoken candidly about how their body has changed following their pregnancy after receiving praise for their appearance on Saturday Night Live.

On Monday, the singer, who gave birth to their first child, a son named Ender, with boyfriend Alev Aydin in July, addressed the attention regarding their appearance with an Instagram post.

In the post, Halsey shared photos of herself in the months after giving birth, with the first photo showing her with an extended stomach, while the other postpartum photos included candid pictures of her stretch marks.

In the caption, the singer, who performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, said that they were posting the photos because “no matter what I do people are going to talk about my body”.

Halsey then went on to explain that it was a “weird feeling” for them to see people talking about how good they looked on SNL because their “body has felt like a stranger’s for a long time”.

Acknowledging that message felt “important” to share, Halsey proceeded to share details about the photos they’d posted, with the 27-year-old beginning with the first picture, taken just days after her baby was born, and writing: “A lot of people don’t know that you still look pregnant for a while after. It is still changing and I am letting it.”

“I have no interest in working out right now,” Halsey continued. “I’m too tired and too busy playing with my darling son.”

The Without Me singer then addressed the comments about their appearance on SNL, revealing that the “body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing,” so that they could “feel good and do my job”.

According to Halsey, she wanted to share the photos of her postpartum body because she does not want to “feed the illusion that you’re meant to feel and look ‘great’ immediately postpartum”.

“This is not my narrative currently,” she wrote. “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!”

Halsey concluded the post explaining that, in the “spirit of honesty,” she is tired and that it has been “really hard,” adding: “Doing my best to serve my art and my family whilst keeping it all so very real. Love.”

The singer’s transparency has prompted an outpouring of supportive comments from their followers, with many applauding Halsey for the honest message.

“You are strong and beautiful. Thank you for sharing this,” one person wrote, while another said: “Love you so much, thank you for being honest.”