EastEnders alum Melissa Suffield reveals her 'belly overhang' in empowering new snaps

ok.co.uk:

Former EastEnders star Melissa Suffield has proudly showed off her “belly overhang” in an honest post encouraging others to not feel ashamed about their bodies.The former actor, who was best known for playing Lucy Beale on EastEnders between 2004 and 2010, has since become an influencer, where she often shares posts about body image with her 38k followers.The mum of one is an advocate for “body neutrality” - an approach to body acceptance between body positivity and body negativity - with one of her new posts covering her thoughts about having an “overhanging” stomach.

The star shared a photo of herself posing in black lingerie, looking happy as she poses confidently in her bedroom. In the caption, Melissa wrote: “A reminder that belly overhang affects LOADS of us, pregnancy related or not.

It affects people of all shapes and sizes, sometimes it’s fat, sometimes it’s skin, sometimes it’s as a result of a scar, sometimes it’s temporary, ALWAYS it’s beautiful.” “It doesn’t have to be something you’re ashamed of, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unhealthy, and you’re most certainly not alone.” She finished her post with: “Hands up who’s got a lil belly overhang?” Melissa’s followers loved the honest post, with many chiming in with their own stories.

One wrote: “Amen i have overhang due to 3 section scars! Proud of my “mumbod” though. Housed 3 babies who are all happy and thriving in life”.