Chrissy Teigen graced the cover of People‘s “The Beautiful Issue.” Inside, she talks about her evolving definition of beauty, facing racism and the miscarriage she and husband John Legend faced last year.
On the cover, she appears with her children Luna, 4, and Miles, 2, with the quote “I’ve learned how strong I am.”
BEAUTY
She says: “Beauty is being able to see how powerful your body is. It’s really, really nice to be able to come to an age where I can appreciate every little scar and see my body as something that’s done incredible, miraculous things. The difference is these two beautiful, wonderful babies, and these scars are the things I’ve been through and the journeys I’ve healed from.”
The 35-year-old says she also has stopped obsessing over her diet: “it's more important for me to enjoy things as they come. I put my mind and spirit over body. If it's going to make me happy and make me feel good, then I indulge in it. I've spent too many years counting calories and scheduling way too many workouts and trying to figure out what my term for wellness was for myself. Now I know it's on the ground playing with my kids or going to a park or an aquarium.”
RACISM
She also discussed facing racism in school and as a model: “I experienced more everyday casual racism once I entered the modeling world. When they needed someone racially ambiguous — that’s what they called it — that was always going to be me.”
MISCARRIAGE
Teigen, who is of Thai and Norwegian descent, says she is honoring her son Jack who she lost at 20 weeks of pregnancy. She wants Luna and Miles to stayed connected with their late brother and always “embrace the ones that we’ve lost” based on her tradition.
She says: “We have this new home that we’re building, and this tree being planted inside. The whole reason why I wanted it was so Jack’s ashes could be in that soil, and he could be with us all the time and grow through the beautiful leaves.”