Melissa Suffield in Bathing Suit Asks “Who’s that Girl?”

Melissa Suffield is known for her role on the hit soap, Eastenders. And she’s also become a large presence on Instagram. Specifically, Suffield speaks about motherhood and body positivity. In a recent post, Suffield posed in a black bathing suit, where she shared the different between her actual body and her body that was photoshopped. In the caption, Suffield talked about how people should reject photoshop and share their natural bodies. “Who’s that girl? Because it sure as hell isn’t me. And actually, creating that image caused my body image and self esteem to be the lowest it has been in a LONG time. It’s alarming how quickly I was able to create it too, having never used the app before, and then how shitty I felt when I looked in the mirror and didn’t see that ‘perfected’ person looking back at me. Read on to see 5 ways Melissa Suffield stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

After Kim Kardashian opened up about what she did to get into her Met Gala dress, Suffield spoke out. She criticized Kardashian’s restrictive diet, and encouraged others to avoid techniques like this. “I would hope that it doesn’t need saying, but just in case it does: Losing 16lbs in 3 weeks is not a healthy rate of weight loss. Cutting entire food groups is not sustainable, and it can lead you down a dark path. If your dress doesn’t fit you, get a different dress. Please remember that you are perfect, just the way you are.”

Suffield wants representation of different groups in the media. Specifically, when it comes to advertising. She explains why in this essay she wrote for Grazia. “We like to think we’re smarter than advertising, that we won’t be duped,” Suffield starts. “We KNOW they’re selling a product, and with it an ideal. A perfect image, a smile, a colour palette- a stark contrast to our messy lives. But even though we know this, the power of ads and the relentlessness with which we see them, is that they take hold without us realising. So we might not end up buying the product, but we now believe the scenario to be exactly what we want, and we start subconsciously modelling our lives around something that doesn’t even exist. And when we fall short, we think we’re failing. It’s why representation is so important. It’s isolating when you don’t see yourself in the media- and it’s euphoric when you do. It validates your existence, whether you’re seeing a brown skinned Little Mermaid, or a same sex couple with a happy baby in their arms. We’ve come a long way, and every step is in a good direction. But we aren’t done.”

Suffield is all about self-love, and wants others to feel the same. She shared this video on Instagram encouraging it. “You don’t have to fit a certain idea of beauty,” she wrote in the caption. “You don’t have to possess a specific body type, or shape, or size, or feature. You don’t have to hide away because you fall short of an impossible standard (guess what, we ALL fall short of this standard). You are allowed to feel BEAUTIFUL. And gorgeous, and sexy, and confident, and bold, and strong, and any other damn thing while you’re at it. You deserve to find that thing that you wear that makes you say ‘HELL YES, I’m a goddamn rockstar’.”

In her recent Instagram post, Suffield spoke out against filters and editing techniques on social media. “25% of people won’t upload a selfie without a filter and a whopping 40% of 16–25-year-olds want to change their real life appearance to look like their filtered images,” she explains. “And the damage being done to those (kids and teens are especially vulnerable here) who are comparing their appearances to faces and bodies that don’t even exist, is actually terrifying. So my call is to social media platforms to take action- and specifically to change their terms and conditions to make it compulsory that the use of face and body altering filters and apps must be clearly declared- by ALL users. For the good of the individual, for the good of society, and for the good of the future.”

Suffield has a lot of confidence in herself. She shared her tips for building it in this video she posted on Instagram. “Step 1: Remember who you are. Don’t try and be someone else. Step 2: It’s not all about your body. You need to make yourself feel good. Confidence from your body comes from confidence in other areas of your life. Think about what you’re best at, think about what you enjoy the most, and focus all your energies on them. Step 3: Take tiny micro risks.”