Jillian Michaels says comments were taken out of context: ‘Pregnancy does NOT ruin your body!
Jillian Michaels is not someoneI’dlike to have as an enemy. I mean, she’s a workout machine. Recently “The Biggest Loser” trainer’s comments in Women’s Health magazine set off a firestorm of controversy when she told them she had no interest in pregnancy because “I can’t handle doing that to my body.” However, now Jillian says her commentswere taken out of context and misconstrued. The reporter who wrote the article may want to do some strength training to prepare if Jillian challenges her to a battle royal…
Momlogic talked to Jillian about the Women’s Health article and how it misrepresented her.
momlogic: So many of our readers responded to our post about your Women’s Health article. It’s obviously something moms were very passionate about. Were your comments taken out of context?
Jillian: They were taken out of context and misconstrued. First of all, the writer wrote that I have an “aversion” to pregnancy- which was her word, not mine. I never said that. It was at the very end of a three-hour interview. The writer said, “Do you want to have kids and I said, “I’m planning to adopt.” She then asked, “Why wouldn’t you get pregnant?” I said there were many reasons … one being that “I can’t handle doing that to my body,” but I didn’t tell her why.
The truth is, I learned very early on that I have endometriosis and polycystic ovaries. I was always told that fertility would/could be a problem for me. Why do I have this? I’ve heard everything from “You have too much caffeine in your body to “It’s genetic” to “You need to be put on birth control pill”- and I don’t believe in using synthetic hormones. In order to get pregnant, I know it would require surgery. For me, it becomes a sort of “I can’t handle doing that.” I’ve always just accepted that this is my thing, and this must mean I was meant to adopt, and that’s okay. But who knows … there might be advances in science for women with endometriosis, so I’ll never say never. But, for now, I plan to adopt.
She then asked if one of the reasons I wanted to adopt instead of get pregnant was because I was an overweight kid. I said, “That could be part of it …” Then, in the piece, she said that was the reason for my “aversion” (again, her word) to pregnancy.
I was feeling kind of panicked about answering the question. For me, it was a very personal question- and I had a lot of shame about the answer. If I tell people I have issues in this area, will they judge me and say, “If she has problems in this area, how healthy can she be?” I don’t think anyone with issues is less than, but this is just how I was feeling in the moment. It caught me off guard.
But NEVER in there did I say I WON’T get pregnant for sure or that it ruins your body. Never have I said that pregnancy ruins bodies. I don’t believe that. My best friend has an 8-year-old and she has one of the best bodies in town. Ali Sweeney’s body looks even better after having Megan … she looks amazing. I helped train her! Madonna has one of the best bodies in the world, and she’s had two kids.
I don’t feel that pregnancy ruins a body at all, and I was really upset that an entire community of women felt hurt by what I allegedly said. So much has been misconstrued and taken out of context. I do expect that from the media, so I don’t really care about that. But what I DO care about is moms. So if moms or women out there feel betrayed at all, that matters to me. Moms are incredibly important to me.
That was the thing that was the most interesting to me … that so many women came out and said they were scared, too. They said what they were thinking and feeling even if it was not politically correct. I think that’s so important, so we can educate and support each other without judgment.
momlogic: What have your interactions with moms been like since the story broke?
Jillian: A lot of women have come up to me after this article came out and said they are scared about what happens to their bodies during and after pregnancy. They said: “I’m scared; I’m worried; it was hard for me.” My first instinct was to say, “Don’t be scared,” but then I just tried to listen to them about why they are scared and tried to reassure them. I think it’s incredibly important that we allow each other to be scared, and to have feelings that are less than perfect- just so we can open up the dialogue with each other, and share, support, and encourage.
To read more of the interview, click here.
In the latest issue of Women’s Health, television’s most well-known personal trainer says she doesn’t want pregnancy to ruin the ripped figure she’s worked so hard for.
