Life

Why This Couple's Bathing Suit Photo Is Going Viral

by Megan Grant

Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you might see an image of a happy couple strolling along the beach hand in hand; but if you pause to read the caption that goes along with it, you'll understand why this couple's bathing suit photo went totally viral. One woman's message is serving as an important reminder to all of us about what it means to love yourself. Bustle has reached out to her for comment and will update upon response.

Jazzy is an aspiring plus-size model, wife, mom, and body-positive activist. She recently shared a photo on her Instagram page — with an impressive following of nearly 30,000 people at the time of this article — of her and her husband walking along the beach holding hands. It's a beautiful image that will make a great memory down the road; but it's likely Jazzy's touching words that explain the more than 60,000 likes the image has received. In it, Jazzy gives a shout-out to her husband, who has always loved every inch of her body — even when she didn't. While they have two very different body shapes, what matters more than anything is the love between them. It's a refreshing reminder on a platform saturated with images of women setting impossible standards — incredibly thin with large posteriors, perfect brows, flawless skin, and plump lips.

Jazzy's caption reads: "Over the years this man has loved every curve, every roll, and every stretch mark on my body. I never understood why! •How could he love something that isn't 'perfect'? How could a man who was 'born fit' love someone like me! I don't have a flat stomach, I jiggle when I walk, hell if I run up the stairs to fast my body claps (lmao)!! But now I see I do have the 'perfect' body!! Every roll, every curve and every stretch mark is put on me just perfect to make both of us happy!!! I love my body and I finally see why he does too!!"

It's a triumphant self-realization when you finally understand not only that you're beautiful, but all the reasons why. Jazzy's IG page is full of all sorts of inspiring encouragement, from reminding girls that their back rolls are beautiful to pointing out that her thighs touch because "they LOVE each other and can't stand to be apart!" She is singlehandedly helping to remove the fear of not being super skinny, and also — based on the recent image that spread like wildfire — pointing out that it's perfectly normal if your partner has a different shape.

Jazzy joins women like Tess Holliday and Ashley Graham, two other self-love advocates encouraging women to love themselves exactly as they are. It's not always easy in a culture that continues to define beauty so narrowly; but we could all learn something from women like Jazzy on how to value ourselves and our unique beauty, inside and out.