Content Warning: This post discusses body image.
Off the back of the FIFA World Cup, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and his fianceé, Georgina Rodríguez, were recently seen enjoying some downtime on a yacht in Mallorca, joined by 16-year-old Cristiano Jr.
Several seemingly candid and unedited pics of Georgina minding her business in a bikini went viral and, unfortunately, became the subject of intense body-shaming commentary online. And now, the Argentine-Spanish reality star has hit back at the hate with a powerful message.
Addressing her 77.1 million Instagram followers on Aug. 4, Georgina wrote: "My body will change, as all women’s bodies do. And I hope it continues to do so for many years, because that will mean I’m still alive." The lengthy caption (translated from Spanish) was posted alongside several of the viral bikini pictures in question, as well as other selfies and photos of her enjoying food. Georgina went on to talk about body image, self-love, confidence, and the lessons she hopes to teach her children.
"I am a mother of 6 wonderful children, 3 are girls who will one day be great women. And if there's anything I wish to teach you — alongside Cris [referring to Ronaldo], who I am deeply proud of for the values he imparts as a father and as a man — it's that the value of a person can never depend on a physique or on the opinion of strangers. That little dose of positive psychology that I try to give them every day also helps me stay grounded in this world of so much fantasy," she wrote.
Georgina wrote that she had seen the online criticism about her body and talked to Cristiano about it, admitting that the hateful comments had made her feel like she was being labeled as "fat" since she makes a "living" off of her "image." In response, Cristiano apparently reminded her of "what truly matters."
Of course, Georgina, unfortunately, is not the first woman in the public eye to face this kind of brutal scrutiny over her looks — and it left her questioning "the standard."
"Funny thing is that this happens every summer. Every year my body is news again," the caption continued. "And then I wonder... Who decides which is the 'right' body? Do we really still think that happiness has a size? I workout because it makes me happy. Because I'm passionate about it. Because that hour at the gym is one of the highlights of my day. It gives me health, peace of mind, discipline, energy and wellness. It's never been a struggle to lose weight; it's always been a way of taking care of me."
"I love my curves. I love the freedom to live in the body I choose. In the body that holds me, that has allowed me to embrace, create life, fall and rise again. A body deserving of respect, love and gratitude in all its versions," she wrote.
At the time of writing, Georgina's post has over 5 million likes and 107,000 comments. She's also getting tons of support over on Reddit, where people are in disbelief that she had to speak out in the first place.
"The world is a scary place when a woman who looks like that (or anything!) has to defend her body from criticism. Because what the fuck," one user wrote, sparking a response from someone else who said that "our culture’s obsession with female thinness is sick."
Plenty of people are struggling to believe that someone as objectively beautiful as Georgina would find themselves facing such brutal criticism. However, one user pointed out that nobody — no matter how conventionally "hot" they are — deserves to be abused by strangers online. "I know these comments are well-meaning, but it doesn’t matter if she looks great or not," they wrote. "Even if she didn’t, she wouldn’t deserve the criticism."
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