Former Miss South Africa Liesle Laurie-Mthombeni shared a raw image of herself on social media to show followers that its okay not to be okay every day.
The model posted a picture of her face sans make-up, revealing puffy red eyes after a crying session, and encouraged followers to allow themselves to express their emotions on good and bad days.
She wrote: “I always take selfies when I look my best but sometimes I look like this and that’s okay. It’s also very normal to me.
“I woke up before 6 this morning feeling extremely overwhelmed by everything. I don’t know if it’s the last quarter of the year push or just general anxiety to ‘kill it’ at everything.
“When watching the ‘Barbie’ movie, Gloria’s (America Ferrera) monologue resonated with me so much because it highlighted the impossible double standard of being a woman.
“We have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.
“You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin…
“You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time…
“You have to answer for men's bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.”
Her post continued: “But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
“You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you!
“And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.”
She thanked her husband Dr Musa Mthombeni for being supportive.
“I resonated with many different parts to the monologue and I’ve come to accept that some days will really just give you a moerse punch in the gut. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I show up 100% for work, gym, family time etc so today I’m showing up 100% to my crying session.
“Tomorrow? We shall see what tomorrow brings. We trust God for the joy he brings in the morning ❤️
“Side note: having the best husband in the world helps – swipe to see his message to me this morning.”
Followers encouraged Laurie-Mthombeni to express herself and applauded her bravery.
mpoomy_ledwaba said her post “gives everyone permission to get in touch with themselves. Thank you for giving us permission today. Showing up 100% for crying sessions is magic😶🤗”.
brendamtambo wrote: “And husband showed up for you girl. You are allowed to feel and we all do but never brave to share, thank you for that. ♥️♥️♥️”
reneyyo_drea said: “It is so relevant to feel like this sometimes. For me, it's like recharging, regaining the strength… aahhh but I don't want to see you cry though it's relevant. Feel better liefie.”
lateflowers_diary wrote: “I respect you for this🫶🏼👏🏽❤️I can imagine the courage it took to post this!”
ratlougaositwe wrote: “You are valid and your emotions are valid: that’s a whole word ❤️❤️❤️❤️”