'It comes in ebbs and flows': Shay Mitchell said she 'relates' to moms who don't feel good enough
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Shay Mitchell is opening up about the “unique” pressures facing millennial moms in a new interview with Flare magazine.
The Canadian actress sat down with the magazine to discuss her partnership with Pampers and the brand’s #ShareTheLove campaign. The initiative was launched after a survey by Pampers revealed nine out of 10 moms worry they aren’t doing a good enough job. #ShareTheLove encourages women to support one another rather than tear one another down; something Mitchell has experienced first hand.
In 2019, Mitchell experienced her first bout of mom-shaming after she and boyfriend Matte Babel attended Drake’s birthday party shortly after their daughter, Atlas Noa, was born.
“I thought, ‘Oh I’m going to get it,'” Mitchell revealed. “But at the same time I was like, ‘OK, bring it. I don’t even care.’ At the end of the day, the person that means the most to me is is my daughter. And as long as I’m doing the best that I can and I’m doing what I feel is right, that’s all I can do.”
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The 33-year-old “Pretty Little Liars” actress, who has nearly 28 million followers on Instagram, said that social media has become a landmine for new moms to navigate. While not everyone has a celebrity-status following, mothers are often subjected to judgement and mommy-shaming online.
“We deal with comparing our everyday lives to other people’s highlight reels,” the star said. “Whether that’s being a parent or not, it’s something that my mom didn’t have to deal with. She wasn’t putting a photo up and then having a million people comment about whether she was doing it right or wrong. I can totally relate to that. There are days where I’m like, ‘Oh cool, I crushed that;’ And there are other days where I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m the worst.’ It comes in ebbs and flows, but just to know that I’m not alone in feeling that way really helps.”
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According to Mitchell, to support women and moms the conversation needs to be shifted away from criticism and judgement. Instead, Mitchell offered the alternative of “What’s your favourite part [of motherhood]” to open a dialogue between moms.
When it comes to feeling the urge to criticize women, Mitchell’s answer is simple. “I would say just don’t do that,” she said. “Share the love and spread the love, because we’re all trying to do our best.”
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