We spoke to her about breaking barriers for women, undergoing a scary post-childbirthexperience, and more.
It’s really a great message you’re sending to women regarding body positivity and embracing our flaws.
How does that feel?
It’s so amazing.
I’ve been doing photo shoots for over 20 years.
They’re more awake about the things that need to be represented.
I was very undereducated on C-sections in general.
In the end, I feel like it’s definitely not as talked about as it should be.
Revealing her post-childbirth health scare
I’d love to hear more about your postpartum experience.
I’m not a mom yet myself, but I’ve been trying to become one for four years.
It’s been a difficult process.
I had a pretty decent pregnancy as far as the general pregnancy.
In my case, I had a difficult C-section because I ended up with an infection as well.
I had to go back to the hospital.
I was there eight days, and needed another surgery to remove the infection.
All of this created a [much] harder postpartum for me.
It wasn’t just physical; it was also mental.
I’ve realized that women struggle in general for so many things after having a baby.
It’s a huge change in the household.
Some people have family members come help, and then that can be chaotic.
It’s a ton of changes.
We all go through something, but in my case, it was mental and physical.
I was concerned about getting back to work.
I was concerned about my health.
It affected me mentally, affected my recovery process.
Thankfully, through that process, my son was so healthy from birth on.
He never had any issues.
He wasn’t colicky, he wasn’t difficult.
He was such an easy baby.
I actually preferred it was me dealing with it than him.
So, what’s your favorite part of being a mom?
There’s so many good parts about being a mom, right?
All the chaos pays off in those amazing moments.
If you let that process take its course, you learn so much from it.
[During] the chaos, you learn a lot.
There’s beauty in the chaos, because you learn patience.
You learn how to grow into a different throw in of adult.
Life is about evolving throughout any age or any timeframe of your life.
That’s the beautiful process about being a mom.
Frida Mom has a product for C-section moms.
It falls apart quickly.
They’ve reinvented that.
This campaign was so incredible between “Sports Illustrated” and Frida Mom.
It was really exciting.
It’s such an important message you’re sending.
That’s another reason why I’m doing the scar love challenge.
We have scars sometimes that aren’t physical.
We have mental scars as well …
It’s really incredible when we can uplift each other.
There really is power in social media when it’s used for a positive thing.
This is something really great for people to have for years to come.
It’s a place of encouragement.
How did you get started?
Everyone has a funny story with starting theirmodeling career.
We all have a different story on how it happened, and they’re normally really good stories.
Some people get discovered on the street.
I was a young girl.
I was 17 or 18 working in a salon, and there was a guy there that did makeup.
We did a few pictures, and I had no intention really of modeling.
I went for it.
I was like, “You know what, let me go.”
The biggest thing when I started modeling … there was one jot down of model at that point.
There wasn’t really room for anything else.
I got the first door open, and then I got 300 noes, but I kept trying.
I was dedicated to the process.
That’s so great because I remember those days myself with those very rigid standards for models.
5'7 to me is not short, because I’m only 4'10.
Yeah, I’m really little.
That’s awesome that you kept at it.
Women, we come in all different shapes and sizes, and why shouldn’t that be portrayed?
It was really exciting because it was a major lesson learned.
There was the mortgage crisis and other things.
We’re slowed down, and I decided to take a job at a restaurant one day a week.
The manager there was from Greece, and he was wearing these really cool bracelets.
I said, “Let me make you something.”
I got my first store.
I have my website as well, byhues.com.
I’ve been able to meet so many wonderful people through the business.
It could be something you completely didn’t expect or that has [nothing] to do with it.
That was the blessing in it.
Launching a successful jewelry line
Tell me more about your jewelry line, Hues.
The jewelry line is genderless; it’s unisex.
I also was big on creating your own.
I’m very open to customizing.
We do a lot of that.
Essentially, that’s what the brand is about.
I saw there’s a small women’s collection.
Is that something you’ll be adding to?
They asked me to do more gender-specific items for women.
I shifted some string color.
I have a lot of things with string, like a wax cotton cord.
What’s next for Hues?
Any new collections in the works?
Right now, there’s a beautiful collection with everything painted, and it’s white.
We did do a very small collection of matte black, and it did very well.
It’s not on the website yet.
It will be soon.
How do you balance the demands of work and family?
It’s definitely a challenge that all moms go through.
Everyone struggles with that balance.
The biggest thing is showing up every day and doing your best.
Sometimes, with that mom guilt we suffer from that, but we really need it.
The juggling act is really about teamwork.
Motherhood is about teamwork.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and it’s really true.
It’s really inspiring and incredible when everything falls into place.
This is the journey, and that’s normal, even if you’re not a mom.
Take a deep breath and take a step away and reset, because every day is a new opportunity.
What advice does she have for other women?
You’ve given great advice so far from your own experiences.
Do you have any advice for women who might be in similar shoes?
That’s why you have to brace on yourself, and the process is not always easy.
Even if it’s difficult, there’s so much that can come from that.
I was like, in a way, “What did I do wrong?”
The more I got in my head about it, the more things were falling apart.
The most important thing is to let the process take.
“Don’t avoid the process” is my best advice.
Let it take its course because you never know what’s going to come out of it.
Here we are three years later.
That opportunity came around three years later.
Before, I was in a hospital room not understanding why.
Now, I know why.
I also appreciate every single minute I have with my son so much more.
I valued that time so differently, and my whole perspective changed.
Great advice, something I’ll definitely turn to in those dark moments.
It’s not easy.
No matter what the process is or the journey, that’s for sure.
The 2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is out now in stores and online.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
