
I've always loved Stacey Solomon. But the bikini pics have led me to a startling realisation… and deep unease
I've known her since she was on The X Factor as an ambitious 20-year-old and felt for her when her latest reality show 'Stacey and Joe' was slammed - why, then, did the pics of her glorious curves this week hit me like a ton of bricks?
6
6
6
As she posed in her orange bikini on holiday in Lake Como this week, she looked happy, healthy and carefree.
Sadly the vile trolls unleashed a torrent of abuse on her with one cruelly saying "She's let herself go" while another added " Ozempic needed".
And as I absorbed the comments, it hit me how long it had been since I had seen a celebrity body that looked like my own.
Recently it feels like on social media I am constantly bombarded with tiny toned bodies, perfect pert bums and impossibly flat stomachs.
Even when I put down my phone it's on our TV screens as the new season of Love Island kicked off with girls in barely-there bikinis and not one belly roll in sight.
It's quite a worrying trend and it's left me feeling uneasy that being thin is so back en vogue.
I grew up in the era where pals lived by Kate Moss 's mantra 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'.
Having struggled with my weight since my teens and having tried (and failed) to do every fad diet going, I've always felt inadequate.
I was grateful for the rise of the body confident movement, and I totally embraced it.
Finally I could feel comfortable in my own skin because celebrities like Adele, Rebel Wilson and Lizzo - who looked like me - were saying they felt sexy, too.
But over the last 12 months I've seen curvier (and actually not-so-curvy) celebs slim down at an accelerated rate with the rise of fat jabs.
Everyone has the right to do what they want with their bodies and lose weight however they choose and there are certainly health benefits to slimming down.
Stacey Solomon looks incredible as she strips off to black bikini and jumps off a bridge in Italy
But this new quick fix means our celebrities are smaller than ever and I think it's making people forget what real women look like.
The cult of thin is back in such a big way and it's depressing for those who aren't getting on board and sacrificing themselves to weight loss injections in a bid to be a skinny minny.
Stacey, who is a busy mum to Zachary, 17, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, three and two-year-old Belle, has never shied away from celebrating her 'mum bod'.
And it is refreshing to see a typical healthy woman in the public eye.
It makes me feel that it would be OK for me to get my body out this summer on holiday.
Two years ago, the 35-year-old, who is married to Joe Swash, revealed to her followers she's a size 10-12.
The average woman in the UK is a size 16 so while she is still smaller than most women, she is still being judged.
The Loose Women star is also maintaining a healthy lifestyle, often working out in her newly built home gym where she aims to be strong not skinny.
Standing in front of a mirror she said: 'I thought it was really important to come on here and say when I take the gym clothes off I look like this…' before pulling down her leggings down past her hips to show off unfiltered and non-photoshopped body.
She added, '...Which is also really pretty and a really lovely body and I just feel like it's important to show that.'
Stacey is one of our most successful Brit celebrities with over 6.1m followers.
Strong not skinny
She's got a host of TV shows and successful brand deals and is even rumoured to be taking part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
In a sea of size zero Ozempic loving stars, maintaining her realistic normal body is perhaps why she's still winning over audiences.
Stacey's success is not determined by the size on her label.
I'm grateful, like many other women, that she prefers to give us an injection of her relatable and funny personality rather than injecting a weight loss drug into her body!
6
6
6
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lizzo stokes controversy lampooning the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad with a message about race
Lizzo has weighed into the controversy surrounding the American Eagle campaign fronted by Sydney Sweeney, by reposting a political meme of herself. Sweeney, 27, and the denim brand have been accused of pushing Nazi-like eugenics as aspirational in the campaign designed to lure Gen Z customers. 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,' Sydney said in the commercial, adding: 'My jeans are blue.' In response, Lizzo, 37, - who boasts 44.7M social media followers - shared a Photoshopped meme of herself in a similar pose with the caption: 'My jeans are black…' Both Sweeney and American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein have not issued any statements amidst the white supremacy backlash, which caused the stock price to substantially dip over the past five days. A source claimed to TMZ on Wednesday that 'independent polling shows the vast majority of folks - around 70% - find the commercial appealing.' On Sunday, American Eagle curiously shared an Instagram photo of a black model fronting the same fall denim campaign after 14 consecutive posts all about Sydney. 'Throwing in a little color for some razzle dazzle,' Instagram user @lyssalive commented. 'This post screams "See, we have black friends,"' Instagram user @jaylightthevibe agreed. 'Try again.' Instagram user @speechierox commented: 'Does she have great jeans like Sydney Sweeney too or is this just damage control?' The Pittsburgh-based fashion retailer pledged to donate 100% of the proceeds from 'The Sydney Jean' (featuring a butterfly patch representing domestic violence awareness) to mental health support non-profit, Crisis Text Line. Lizzo's (born Melissa Jefferson) post coincidentally came the same day she told PAPER that she has 'great genes.' 'I love my natural face,' the four-time Grammy winner declared to the magazine. 'I look at my mother's face and I'm like hell yeah. I feel very blessed to have great genes and I wanna show it. Why cover up what God gave you?' On January 16, Lizzo announced that she had reached her weight-loss goal, lowered her body mass index (BMI) by 10.5, and lost 16% of her body fat since 2023. Both Sweeney and American Eagle CEO Jay Schottenstein have not issued any statements amidst the white supremacy backlash, which caused the stock price to substantially dip over the past five days A source claimed to TMZ on Wednesday that 'independent polling shows the vast majority of folks - around 70% - find the commercial appealing' Lizzo will next produce and star in a biopic about pioneering electric guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, which will mark her biggest acting gig yet The Yitty co-creator - whose Halloween costume was Ozempic - repeatedly denied being on the trendy GLP-1 drug until June 19 when she confessed on the Just Trish podcast that she had tried it in the past. Lizzo will next produce and star in a biopic about pioneering electric guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, which will mark her biggest acting gig yet. 'I'm not doing it because I want an Oscar,' the Crashout rapper told PAPER. 'I want to make Sister Rosetta Tharpe a household name as big as Elvis. When people talk about rock 'n' roll it begins with her.' Last week, Lizzo teased that she was 'back in the studio' ahead of the release of her fifth studio album, Love in Real Life. The Emmy-winning producer will eventually have to face her former back-up dancers - Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez - at a jury trial in Santa Monica Courthouse due to their sexual, religious, and racial harassment lawsuit. Lizzo has vehemently denied all of their allegations.


The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
I forked out £80k to look like a cartoon character – now I want even more surgery to achieve my goal
A WOMAN who forked out £80,000 for her dramatic plastic surgery has revealed she has no plans to stop going under the knife. Pixiee Fox drew inspiration from cartoon characters including Jessica Rabbit and Sleeping Beauty for her transformation, but was told she would end up looking "goofy" by plastic surgeons. 5 5 5 On an episode of E!'s Botched, Pixiee faced plastic surgeon Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif as she revealed she wanted to go under the knife yet again to lower her hair line to make her forehead appear smaller. "I never really felt human, I always felt more like a fantasy creature," she said on the show. But when Pixiee met with the surgeons they weren't convinced by her plans to lower her hairline. "I am so close to becoming a real life cartoon, I need a small surgery and I'm done," she said. After a consultation with the doctors, they determined her previous surgeries had caused too much damage. "I have never seen anything like this in my entire career," Doctor Terry said. The duo broke the news to Pixiee that they wouldn't operate on her, but she hinted she would still go ahead with the surgery elsewhere, despite their advice. How has Pixee Fox made herself look like a Barbie doll? The social media star has had countless plastic surgery ops since her first procedure in 2011, transforming her body. Pixee, who lives in North Carolina, flew to India to have her eye colour changed in a dangerous operation that is not performed in Europe or America. She also went to Korea to have her jaw shape changed in another extreme procedure that could have left her paralysed. She's had several boob jobs, bringing her up to a colossal 30J, and has pumped up her bum and lips with fat from her legs and belly. Pixee even admitted she 'gave up on love' to share a home with fellow surgery addict Justin Jedlica, so they can live together as a real-life Barbie and Ken. She's had 200 ops, including six ribs removed, four boob jobs, two rounds of liposuction, labiaplasty, and butt lift. And she even had her jaw broken, shaved and reset, to mimic Wonder Woman. Pixee Fox went through the agonising op to give her a symmetrical V-shaped jawline in June. She's also said to have had her nose and ears altered to make her look more like a Disney princess. Pixiee shot to fame for her unique looks, but soon the multiple procedures started to take a toll on her health, so she decided to take a break from going under the knife. Back in 2023 she shared an update with her Instagram followers, as she claimed her obsession with plastic surgery nearly killed her. She said: 'I was a person famous for having plastic surgery, and I have advertised doctors and the procedures they have done on me. I am making this post now because I see other girls advertising this doctor who almost ended my life." She added: 'I am lucky to still be alive after been in a coma for more than one week. So lucky to have friends and family coming to my aid and getting me home to Sweden." 5 5


The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Dragon's Den: Adorable moment son joins father to pitch sensory-friendly T-shirt
A father-and-son duo faced Dragon's Den to pitch a sensory-friendly T-shirt. Max Palfrey was 11 when he entered the lair as one of the youngest entrepreneurs to appear on the BBC series. Joined by his father, Matt, the duo presented a product that was inspired by Max's experiences as a neurodivergent person. The Comfa fidget features built-in pop-fidget toys in its hem. They are priced at £19.99 and are available in several colours. Both children's and adult sizes are available to buy.