Why Chrissy Teigen Believes in Sharing Messy Parenting Moments Online

In a world where social media often presents an idealized version of pregnancy and parenthood, many feel pressured to showcase only the best moments of their lives. The highlight reels of adorable family outings, spotless homes and perfect pregnancy announcements can create an unrealistic standard. But true to form as ever, model and mom of four Chrissy Teigen, is dedicated to keeping it real.

At the recent Aura Digital Parenthood Summit, The Bump tuned in as Teigen spoke with WndrCo. co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg about how she and her husband John Legend try to show up as parents on social media. "I feel like the more that John and I can live authentically and share our struggles just as much as we share our passions and the beautiful side of things, the better. I think people need to see the really uncomfortable, icky side of things too,” Teigen emphasized.

“Because one thing I don’t want for my children is to ever be on social media and think that everybody’s lives are beautiful and perfect and filtered and glorious, and everyone’s got no pores and this and that. There’s just too much that they are inundated with that looks like perfection. So I think personally I’ve been a shining example of imperfection,” she added.

Teigen went on to share how important it was not just to be authentic for her children’s sake but also for the sake of other parents. “I think why I felt it in my heart to share all those really raw, uncomfortable, hard things is because that resonates so well with people,” Teigen said. “I will say I’ve had the most beautiful conversations in a Shake Shack no Less where I’ve held people crying in my arms because we shared our miscarriage journey. Or even about the confusion of like, ‘oh my God, I had an abortion,’” she added referencing her life-saving abortion in 2020.

“I don’t like coming out and saying, ‘I’m really dumb. I thought this was this, I didn’t know I had this,’ but I felt like it was important for people to hear and important for people to understand. So for me, that’s always going to be top priority. Getting people to understand the side of it that isn’t so glitzy and glamorous,” she added.