Your Stories - Nicole

Content Warning: These stories contain mentions of body dysmorphia, body image struggles, pregnancy loss, fertility struggles and gendered violence. If you find any of the below triggering, please find a list of helpful and free resources below:

DV/SV: 1800 RESPECT

Mental Health: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

Eating Disorders and Body Image Issues: Butterfly Foundation 1800 ED HOPE

Nicole articulated perfectly when she first wrote in for our model call shoots describing that her body and spirit never felt aligned, leaving her feeling like she never truly belonged. Her childhood was filled with trauma and that, especially at a young age (and when it’s relentless) can imprint on how we sit in our bodies. It’s so easy to dissociate and create a chasm for self preservation, and before you know it you’ve been at war with your body for years, and now shes calling a truce.

She came into the studio talking about breaking cycles, but the truth is she’s already doing it. What gives her the strength needed are her two daughters. You only have to speak to Nicole for a minute before seeing her light up expressing how proud she is of them. 

After decades of pushing, punishing, and wondering why her body never seemed to play by the rules, she learned it wasn’t defiance, it was Lipedema. A diagnosis that made everything click. She wasn’t broken, she was misread.

The shoot wasn’t about confidence. It was about proof. Proof that she could stand still and let herself be seen. That she didn’t need to earn softness or shrink to deserve love. She arrived anxious, triggered, second-guessing if she even belonged here, but she stayed. She breathed through the panic. She trusted us.

When she saw her images, it hit her differently. Not in a fireworks way, more like a quiet exhale. She cried, not because she hated what she saw but because for the first time, she didn’t. The photos that scared her most, the ones where her Lipedema showed, became the ones she’s learning to love.

Nicole’s story isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about finally seeing who’s been there the whole time. The mother, the fighter, the healer, the role model. The woman who can hold grief, ADHD, scars, cellulite, and still make space for joy. 

The best of hers is yet to come.