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Celebrity

01st Nov 2021

Holly Willoughby praised for comments about her changing body

Katy Brennan

“Getting older is a privilege because not everyone else gets to be here.”

Holly Willoughby has opened up about her new-found appreciation for her body as she turns 40.

The TV presenter joined her long-time friend Fearne Cotton for the latest episode of The Happy Place podcast, to promote the release of her new book, Reflections.

Discussing the topic of self-criticism, Holly said it was something she had done “a lot” in her life, adding that it is a line of thinking that’s easy to fall into as you age and your body changes.

“We are heading towards that kind of menopausal time, skin is changing, hair is changing, body’s changing – even having had a baby the shape of your body completely changes.

“I think that it’s really important in those moment rather than look down and go, ‘Oh my god, look at everything changing, I’m getting old, I’m getting more wrinkled. Oh my God, my t*ts are around my knees.’

“Instead of looking down, you’ve sort of got to look up with it and go, ‘God, my body was able to carry a baby and my boobs breastfed three children and they were fine’.

“You got to go, ‘Yes my face is starting to sag and my eyes are blood shot and the rest of it’, but ‘I’m healthy and I’m ok and getting older is a privilege because not everyone else gets to be here’.”

Holly went on to say she feels a sort of “responsibility” to her daughter, as well as other women, to set a good example when it comes to self-acceptance.

“Having a daughter I’m very aware of the example I set now in this stage because Belle’s ten so she’s old enough now to be watching me and I want to conduct myself in a way that when she gets to this stage, it’s like I’m clearing the pathway for her.

“That’s how I feel about many things and not just about outwards image but this is what we’re talking about now. I feel I have a responsibility there to do this in a way that is a positive experience for all of us.”

Reflections, which was released last week, looks at what it means to live a beautiful life in the modern world.

In the book, Holly talks about the topic of body image, revealing she was subject to body-shaming at the beginning of her career.