Ashley Graham talks battling imposter syndrome: 'We don't wake up feeling perfect'

Ashley Graham is the latest guest on model Hailey Bieber's YouTube series, Who's in my Bathroom?! The model pals gathered in Bieber's bathroom to sample various wines and cheeses and chat about modeling, motherhood and imposter syndrome.

Graham, who is a mom of three boys, who said she "loves" being a "boy mom," shared, “It’s so much fun. You don’t know what you’re about to get and all of a sudden I’m like alright, where’s the whistle? I’m the referee, let’s go, basketball team! It’s so much fun."

Graham gave birth to her son Isaac in 2020 and to her twins, Roman and Malachi, in 2022.

But being an empowered mother, model and TV presenter doesn’t stop Graham from experiencing imposter syndrome. The Nebraska native described the feeling of imposter syndrome as "so real."

“It’s just a very strange place to be,” said the first-ever size 16 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model. “For so long I’m like this is what I want! This is what we’re going to do! I’m going to fight everybody! And sometimes you just get into this place. But curves aren’t trends, bodies aren’t trends, skin color isn’t a trend, age isn’t a trend, diversity in all facets is very important because that’s the world that we live in,” she explained.

She added that it's "hard" watching the younger generations, "because I was her one time."

"I was her, thinking I wasn’t good enough or pretty enough," she said. "I think it makes us human and it’s important to remember that we don’t wake up feeling perfect."

Graham has always kept it real. In 2022, the model shared her nude, unretouched magazine cover shoot, which was taken shortly after giving birth.

She wants others to celebrate their post-pregnancy bodies as well, and wrote about initially struggling to love how her body changed in a May 2022 op-ed for Glamour.

"I was bringing it up constantly to my team. I was like, 'You don’t understand. I used to be a sex symbol, and now I am a baby-making machine and I have stretch marks up to my belly button. What the eff is happening?'" she wrote. "Then one day I just stopped and thought, Screw it, this is my life, and I posted a photo of my stretch marks on Instagram, which that day my husband described to me as looking like the tree of life. Bless him."

In June 2022, Graham shared a video of herself dancing in a Knix bra and panty set, along with the caption, “Posting this video for all the mamas who haven’t and may never 'bounce back' and for anyone who needs to be reminded that your body is beautiful in its realest form. this is my strong, five-month-postpartum-been-pregnant-for-two-years body. as it is. in hopes to further normalize ALL bodies in every and any stage of life.”

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.