Posted by I wrote the post below shortly after I started the blog in 2016. My appreciation and admiration of Ellen continues to this day and I’m so lucky to get to go see her show this week! Follow @belovedbody on Instagram if you want to see more about the show experience.
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During maternity leave in 2014, Ellen was my best friend (I mean besides my new baby and husband, of course!). 4 p.m. was always a glorious hour when I knew my sleep exhaustion would be replaced by laughter and a lot of smiling thanks to her show. When maternity leave ended, so did my afternoon date with Ellen.
Fortunately, Ellen has come back into my life. I’m working fewer hours to be able to spend more time with Hadley, meet people in San Francisco and just manage life, especially when Scott is on the road. This has allowed me to watch her show while folding laundry or doing other activities around our place.
Last month, she interviewed singer Demi Lovato. Demi recently posed in Vanity Fair magazine with minimal clothing (i.e., none), no makeup and no Photoshop. When Demi explained she had a history of eating and body image issues and now wanted to be a positive example for girls, Ellen asked her when she started to become comfortable with her body. Demi said when the Kardashians (and their bodies) rose to fame, that was the first time she associated curves with beauty. She realized she should be proud of her curves. Today, she added, there are many more women out there rocking their curves and this gave her confidence to do the magazine photo shoot.
Kudos to Demi Lovato, but what I love, love, love is Ellen’s response:
“The most important thing, the message we should be sending to young boys and girls is be healthy. It doesn’t really matter what your weight is. Just be healthy.”
I wish I could frame this and hang it everywhere – as a reminder to myself and to the world. She is so right. And as I was thinking about her statement well after the show, I realized Ellen exemplifies the true meaning of beauty. People don’t love her because she looks like a Victoria’s Secret model. They love her because she is authentic, fun, funny, gracious, generous and kind. She uses her show as a platform to inspire happiness and kindness. She even ends every show by saying, “Be kind to one another.” Now that is beautiful.
I want to be Ellen DeGeneres beautiful.
-Amy
Beloved Body 