New mum Gemma Atkinson has slammed trolls who have labelled her 'fat' and 'lazy', just three weeks after she gave birth to her son.
The 38 year old former Hollyoaks star gave birth to her second child, son Thiago, in July. She shares him and her four year old daughter, Mia, with Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, 32.
Taking to Instagram, the now-mum-of-two spoke about a recent walk she took to the doctors with her mum.
She laughed as she said that she had discussed paparazzi pictures taken on their outing, saying: "I did look like a bag of rags, to be fair. I didn't look my best."
Gemma explained her ongoing C-section recovery was the reason she wasn't pushing Thiago's pram.
She said: "My mum was pushing the pram, because it's quite hilly where I live, so downhill I could push him. Uphill, it was a little bit tender and I don't want to overdo it."
"When we came out of the doctors, I was going on my phone to look at the ingredients list in my medication, because you know what I'm like with stuff. I was like, 'will this steroid cream affect my breastfeeding?'
"My point is people message me a lot of DMs. Some are lovely, some are horrible - whatever. I've already had one kicking off today that Thiago shouldn't be in the sun. F*** off."
"Anyway, people were messaging me. I got one saying how lazy I was letting my mum push the pram.
"I got another one saying: "You used to be fit, and you're still fat."
Gemma went on to explain she and her mum had a good chuckle at the photos, with her mum admitting: "You do look awful."
She said: "If I had been on my own reading those messages - 'you used to be fit, you're proper lazy' - I would have been like, oh my god. Especially with a three week old baby, your hormones are up and down anyway.
"If you know anyone who's just had a baby, check in with them. Just check they're okay, because there's always mum-shamers all the time.
"Like I say, I've had it this morning, someone's kicked off at me for calling Thiago 'little man'. 'Use his name.' Why? He's got loads of different names."
Gemma was recently praised for showing off her postpartum body after having a C-section when she welcomed baby Thiago into the world.
Two weeks after the birth of her son, Gemma took to Instagram to share a video of the realities of being postpartum, as she showed off her stomach in a candid video.
In the lengthy caption, Gemma talked about wearing breast pads, an 'industrial size sanitary pad' and having a swollen tummy.
She admitted that she is "not expecting to look like my old self for months down the line yet" as she talked about resting following her surgery.
The star went on to say that soon she would be going on some "short walks", and she's certainly stuck to her word as she was seen out with her mum and son.
She revealed that, at the time, she had lost 12lb since coming home from the hospital, and that she's been snacking on healthy things, such as 'yogurt, fruit, boiled eggs and dark chocolate' whereas, during her pregnancy, her go-to snacks were 'bread and Haribo'.
Her followers praised her for her honesty in the comments on the post, as one said: "You look amazing! You should be so proud of yourself for being real! Showing other mums it’s normal to look the way they do after having a baby and not ‘springing’ back into shape, exercise and normal life because that's not reality. Myself and many other women look up to you for this very reason so never ever change xx."
Another said: "You sound fabulously relaxed, normalising post parting bodies is so healthy for others to see and you look strong! Love your posts."
