Shay Mitchell has no time for mommy shamers.
In a new interview with Women's Health, the actress, new mom and the magazine's June cover star recalled criticism she received after giving birth to daughter Atlas in October 2019. From critical comments about breastfeeding her daughter to her workout routine, Shay just couldn't catch a break from haters online.
"Right after I had Atlas, if I ever made a comment about how I didn't feel like myself, people were like, ‘Well, you just had a baby,'" she told the outlet. "Yeah, I know I just had a baby. I'm very grateful for my body, and that it gave life, but I'm still allowed to express that I don't feel like myself."
Shay's daughter, who she shares with boyfriend Matte Babel, was just 5 months old when the pandemic brought everything to a standstill, and Shay vowed to "get it together" and began a fitness regimen this past January.
Most recently, the Pretty Little Liars star uploaded a side-by-side photo to Instagram in February, showing a before and after of her body since the star was using the Openfit app—to which social media users commented, asking if the snap was "photoshopped."
Shay shared the post of her progress since, as she told the publication, "it changed everything" and was bothered by the comments since she was proud of her results from her fitness routine.
The 34-year-old model has also opened up previously about experiencing prepartum depression while pregnant with Atlas and relayed her current feelings of wanting to celebrate being able to find her strength afterwards.
"I was strong before I had Atlas, and I wanted to feel that way after," she shared in the article. "We celebrate our bodies before we're pregnant; we celebrate our bodies with bumps. We should also celebrate our bodies at whatever point we feel our best again."
For Shay, feeling her best again included getting the most she could out of her consistent routine, which has recently centered around an impressive deadlift.
"Getting up to 50 pounds was a boss move," she shared. "I was really proud of myself."
The actress got through her prepartum struggles with the help of friends, and has faced her postpartum criticism head on, but there's one specific pillar that really helped guide the star through. In the article, the star recalled, "And then, of course, seeing Atlas for the first time, I forgot everything."