"We have a lot of sex." Ashley Graham, the body-positive model who is on Glamour magazine's "Summer of Sex" cover [1], answered questions about being a sex symbol, body image, and, you guessed it — what it takes to keep her relationship healthy. The model is upfront about nudity, what it's like being a Sports Illustrated model who waited until marriage, and the relationship rituals she and her husband swear by. Check out her candid quotes ahead.
On being considered a sex symbol . . .
"When I met with Eva Chen from Instagram, she told me that 75 percent of my followers are women. So if anyone wants to call me a sex symbol, it's women. We are redefining sexy."
On getting nude for photos . . .
"You know, my thing is: If it's vulgar, and it's, like, me grabbing my breasts and showing nipple, I'm not going to do it. When I said, 'I don't do nip and bush,' I didn't feel like I had to be specific as to what kind. So you might even see more nipple coming up. But trust me: You will never see my vagina!"
On her own body positivity . . .
"Some days I feel like I have superpowers, but some days I feel like I'm the fattest girl in the world. And I talk about my back fat and my cellulite because it's important to have women in the media addressing the things that society has called flaws."
On waiting until marriage . . .
"Being a girl who waited until she was married to have sex with her husband but who is also a Sports Illustrated model is confusing for people. But I set standards for myself. And I want my message to women to be 'Do what is right for you.'"
On those Joe Jonas [3] kisses . . .
"It's a gut intuition. I ask myself, 'Is this right for me, my brand, my career, and my relationship?' Doing the music video with Joe Jonas — and making out with him — was something that I talked to [my husband] Justin about before I went in. And he understood I was playing a role. There are reasons to set boundaries for yourself, but there are also reasons to keep doors open. With that video I wanted to let the world know that love comes in all sizes . . . "
On her relationship rituals with her husband . . .
"He tells me, 'You're the hardest-working woman I know.' And to hear it from your man is, like, a whole other thing. We don't go to bed mad at each other. We play the Nice Game — after a fight, when we're done arguing but there's still a weird energy, whoever says, 'Let's play the Nice Game,' the other person has to say something nice about them. Then [we go back and forth and] we remember why we love each other. And we have a lot of sex."