What an inspiring interview!
It’s always so refreshing when celebs are willing to remove all the filters and get really real with their fans — which is exactly what Jaime King did for the September issue of Galore!
While opening up about her “reproductive illnesses” and “countless miscarriages,” the 38-year-old penned a courageous essay about almost losing her kids, her gender identity, and the importance of human connection.
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The Hart Of Dixie actress wrote:
“A big shift in me happened when I was diagnosed with endometriosis and poly-cystic ovary syndrome, which are very painful reproductive illnesses. I also had countless miscarriages and almost lost my children. I thought that because my womb didn’t work the way I was taught it should work, I was broken. We are told as women that our great value is to be able to carry life, to carry a child. If we’re fertile and abundant, we’re a worthy goddess. But for some reason, those parts don’t function for some of us.”
She went on:
“When I was told I couldn’t carry a child, it crushed me in a way that was so much deeper than I could explain. I felt ashamed that I was suffering every day. I would wake up in pools of blood, and feel ashamed. And then I said, fuck this. I’m not going to be ashamed.”
The mother-of-two admitted the experience has taken a huge toll on her overall well-being:
“I had severe postpartum depression. I isolated myself. I was anxious all the time, I felt like I was unlovable. I couldn’t even think straight. I had to live through an entire pregnancy where I didn’t know if my child was going to live or die. I couldn’t even process the trauma because I was too busy trying to keep him and myself alive.”
Because of her hardships, the model is committed to raising awareness and starting a conversation about women’s health issues:
“We need to talk about these things. We grow up with a mentality that menstruation is not supposed to be painful, and if it is, you deal with it yourself and don’t complain. We need to talk about this and spread as much awareness as we can. Girls as young as 12 get diagnosed with endometriosis and PCOS. When you’re living with it, it can be constant agony.”
With all of that said, Jaime understands the importance of using her platform to be on the right side of history — something her bestie Taylor Swift could take note of, in our opinion:
“When I started campaigning for Hillary Clinton, I lost about 80,000 followers on Instagram. But those who are put in the spotlight have a very, very big responsibility. We have to be true to ourselves. I’ve been conditioned to put out this perfect illusion ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ I’m supposed to look beautiful, speak beautifully, be beautiful, and be this unattainable thing. But it’s not the truth for me or any of us.”
Switching gears, the White Chicks star also candidly opened up about her past relationships with women, and “always feeling masculine and feminine”:
“I’ve always felt masculine and feminine. I love men and I’ve chosen to be in a heterosexual marriage, but I’ve been in relationships with women and I love women, too. I was called James at the start of my career because my mom called me that as a kid. I’ve always identified more with James than Jaime. I didn’t just want to be a girl or woman and I didn’t want to be a man. There’s no vocabulary for what I identify with. We’re all trying to find the words for such a complex thing. With more people expressing who they are, it’s so much healthier and so much better.”
As a result, it’s no surprise Jaime is giving her children the opportunity to define who they are for themselves:
“That’s what I tell my son, who one minute is wearing princess dresses and the next minute is chasing every chick in the preschool. One day he came home upset because someone said boys can’t wear makeup and it broke his heart. He didn’t understand why. Why can’t our children do whatever they want? I don’t want to tell my children ‘you’re this’ or ‘you’re that.'”
Later, she concluded:
“Vulnerability is our greatest strength. When you’re able to really speak and share from the heart, that’s when you truly connect with other people, which heals everything. None of this outside stuff matters if we’re with the people we love.”
Preach!
[Image via Galore.]