Model Lisa D’Amato on ‘Torturous’ Pregnancy
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John Sciulli/WireImage(NEW YORK) — The America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars winner from 2011, Lisa D’Amato, admits she’s not having a “model” pregnancy.
“It is torturous every single day,” D’Amato, 31, told ABC News. “And I’m not going to lie about it like everybody else. I think that people find a lot of comfort in lies. And I’m not a liar.”
When asked if the first-time mother-to-be had ever experienced the infamous “glowing feel” people often talk about during pregnancy, she scoffed at the idea.
“No. No glow,” the model blatantly stated. “You gain a ton of weight, you’re moody, morning sickness, which I still have, for the record. It doesn’t stop.”
While she may not have a glow, D’Amato, who is eight and a half months pregnant with a boy, has gained about 50 pounds.
“When I hear interviews from celebrities and they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, I just feel awesome every second of every day. Like, everything’s so amazing,’ it’s like, shut up, change the channel. That’s nothing I can relate to. This is real life, people.”
Despite so many stars playing up the glamour and beauty of being pregnant, like Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen and actress Halle Berry, D’Amato isn’t alone in zeroing in on maternity’s less warm and fuzzy side.
Even actress Jenny McCarthy, in her book, Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy, wrote about her 80-pound weight gain during pregnancy, calling it “brutal” and “gross and smelly.”
Many moms are relieved that D’Amato is speaking out about the less-than-perfect side of pregnancy.
“It’s not all butterflies and rainbows,” said Jeanine Edwards, former pregnancy blogger and current editor of MomFinds.com, a mommy website. “You will feel fat sometimes, your face will break out, and your hair will start to fall out at a point.”
But despite everything, D’Amato says she can’t wait for her son to be born.
“I laugh at it all,” D’Amato explained. “I might be throwing up in a toilet, but I’m laughing on the floor. I’m like, ‘Oh, here we go again.’”
ABC News senior medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton agrees not all women should be expected to love being pregnant.
“I chalk this up as another social stigma against women,” Ashton said. “Why should all women be expected to love being pregnant? Everyone should have their own experience. Not liking pregnancy doesn’t mean you’re a bad mother.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio