Gigi Hadid is learning to love her new body following an ongoing health battle with Hashimoto’s disease.
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit beauty—who defended her noticeably slimmed-down figure with a flurry of emotional tweets on Sunday—is refusing to let body shamers get her down. On Monday, during an interview with E! News at the Anna Sui fall 2018 runway show, Hadid explained that she has been happy with her body at every stage of treatment, saying: “I’ve loved my body when I was just diagnosed and I loved [it] going through it and I love my body now.”
The 22-year-old also revealed to the publication that she’s embracing her “healthy,” lither frame that has resulted from her body combating the autoimmune disorder. “It’s just about everyone accepting their body as it matures and knowing that it’s not always going to look the same and you can love yourself in all different sizes,” the supermodel said.
The fashion star, who first revealed her diagnosis with the thyroid disease in 2016, continues to be a vocal advocate for loving the skin she’s in, informing critics earlier this week that she “will not further explain the way [her] body looks.”
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However, she did offer a few details as to why her frame has recently appeared thinner than usual. “Although stress & excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better,” she wrote. “I may be ‘too skinny’ for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is.”
She added, “I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesn’t suit ur ‘beauty’ expectation, shouldn’t have to.”
Her tweets garnered the attention of celebrity friends Chrissy Teigen and Ruby Rose, with Teigen offering: “Alternate tweet: ‘f— off.'”
And Rose sent some positive vibes, stating: “Can’t wait to see you in Milan. Sorry you too have to explain something so ridiculous to people. Love to you. Love to the people who try to tear down others also because they are just people who haven’t had the spiritual growth that needs to occur to love and accept one another.”
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Hadid has also received support from her musician beau, Zayn Malik, according to an E! News source, who said the former boy bander “always makes her feel beautiful.”