Teddi Mellencamp Shares Refreshingly Honest Postpartum Bikini Photos

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp looks, well, perfect in most of the photos she shares on her Instagram, and of course, the star is well-dressed and coiffed in episodes of her Bravo reality show. But it turns out the 39-year-old mom of three is just like most moms, because she too has had to work hard to accept her body after baby. In fact, Mellencamp has learned to love her "flaws" after welcoming baby, Dove, in February — she is also a mama to Cruz, age 6, and Slate, age 7, with her husband Edwin Arroyave (via ET Online). 

In a refreshingly honest Instagram post shared over the weekend, the reality star opened up about wearing a bikini just five months after her daughter's birth. "It's easy to lose ourselves in comparison — how we perceive our bodies vs others," Mellencamp relatably shared, adding, "We too often default to self-criticism and forget about the effort we've put in to get to here." The RHOBH mainstay went on to admit in the candid post, "It's taken years of work for me to feel comfy enough to head to a beach day and only think about the good times I'll be having with the kiddos, rather than things not fully in my control. And even so, I can snap a pic feeling confident in my bikini but the reality is the stretch marks and loose skin are there."

Looking at the photo of the famous mom, one might wonder, Um, what stretch marks? What loose skin? Well, in addition to her post, Mellencamp also bravely shared a video that bared stretch marks on her thighs and loose belly skin. "'How come you don't have stretch marks?'" she says people will ask her. "Oh, I got these bad boys," the mama says, showing a close-up of her thighs. "Loose skin? Got it," she admits, pulling down her bikini bottom to reveal her truth. "I just wear my high-waist bikinis and embrace what's goin' on."

"They tell my story," Mellencamp's post goes on to say about her post-baby body. She finishes the powerful post: "So today, I am heading to the beach feeling good about myself because that's the only way it should be."

Teddi, we applaud your honesty and hope it empowers other moms to embrace their bodies postpartum, stretch marks, loose skin and all!