A quick scroll through Ria Atayde’s Instagram grid and you’ll immediately know that the actress doesn’t shy away from showing off her bod. Confidence seems to ~radiate~ through every bikini snap from her recent beach trips. She’s a true beach babe, after all!
However, the 31-year-old admits that feeling *this* comfortable in her own skin didn’t come easy for her. In fact, it's been quite a journey for her towards body positivity!
Clad in sultry swimsuits that hugged her gorgeous curves, Ria opened up about it in her ~*sexy*~ Preview May 2023 cover.
Borgy Angeles for Preview May 2023“There was no bullying with the way [I looked] but [there were] small jokes [calling me] 'suman' or 'porkchop,' stuff like that,” the actress opens up about the names people ~jokingly~ called her when she was younger. “I think even [if] people think it’s lambing or endearment, may tatak pa rin sa’yo even if that isn’t the intention.”
Growing up as a “chubby girl,” the actress admits that she used to struggle with accepting her body, especially when she entered showbiz at 23.
“I really tried to lose weight because I was a lot bigger then,” she says, revealing that she even went on *crash diets* to shed pounds because she used to “hate” her body. However, this decision ultimately caused her to have the health issues she struggles with today, including hypothyroidism, which made it even more *difficult* for her to lose weight.
“It doesn’t surprise me that I have hyperacidity and all these [issues now] because I hated my body back then,” she says. “For the longest time, I was so frustrated [that] I worked out a lot. I ate like a bird sometimes but I wasn’t losing weight and I realized that there were underlying issues.”
Borgy Angeles for Preview May 2023While we still have a lot to work on when it comes to society’s standards of beauty, Ria is thankful for the opportunity to represent *big girls* like her, which previously came in the form of a calendar spread for White Castle Whiskey.
"If anything good came out of the calendar [shoot], I’ve had people thank me [saying,] ‘If you can embrace yourself, why can’t I? Because of you, I’m a lot more confident too,'" she shares.
The actress may not have had a “big girl” to look up to growing up, but at 31, she’s now become a role model to thousands of younger Filipinas like her. “Representation really does matter. You don’t realize how much it matters until you see it.”
You’re a true inspiration, Ria!
Read Preview.ph's cover story featuring Ria Atayde here.
