For her September cover of Vogue Magazine, Beyonce hired 23-year-old photographer Tyler Mitchell, the first African American man to ever shoot a cover for the publication. She also wanted to be sure the interview that went along with the now-iconic images were equally as insightful and inspiring. In the article, Beyonce revealed what a difficult process the delivery of her twins was and how she ultimately learned to love her own body again once it was over.
In her interview with Vogue, Beyonce told the story of how her newborn twins had to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit:
"I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir. I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies' health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU."
The singer was grateful for the immense help from her husband, Jay-Z:
"I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend, and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later."
Of course, even after the twins were delivered, Beyonce still had to come to terms with the effects of the surgery.
"After the C-section, my core felt different. It had been major surgery. Some of your organs are shifted temporarily, and in rare cases, removed temporarily during delivery. I am not sure everyone understands that. I needed time to heal, to recover."
The pop megastar was proud of herself for being generous with "self-love and self-care."
"I accepted what my body wanted to be."
Beyonce says she leaned into her curves and allowed herself to have a more naturalistic look, something she thinks all men and women should try before letting society's unreachable standards control us:
"I think it's important for women and men to see and appreciate the beauty in their natural bodies. That's why I stripped away the wigs and hair extensions and used little makeup for this shoot."
Twitter was inspired by their Queen-B's honesty and wisdom:
The Vogue cover was, obviously, a smash hit and Beyonce has gone on to her usual greatness (some critics expect her to nab two nominations for "Record of the Year" at the 2019 Grammys). It seems Beyonce can truly do no wrong!
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