Emily Skye was celebrated for her 'bikini body' after she gave birth. Until she got fit again.

There's a reason Emily Skye has amassed a community of 2.7 million followers on Instagram.

Unlike many of us on the social media platform, the fitness influencer and mum-of-two doesn't just share her highlight reel - she's posted about the good, the bad and the in-between of pregnancy, the reality of "bouncing back" and how her body has changed since having kids.

And the response to her refreshing approach on the app is mostly always positive. Except for most recently.

In July, Emily shared a montage of videos - from when she was pregnant with her second son in 2020 to now - wearing a bikini, highlighting how her body has changed over the two years, and embracing it all.

"My 'bikini body' in different forms over the past couple of years," she wrote.

"There’s nothing 'wrong' with being confident in your own skin! There’s everything RIGHT about it!"

In the caption, Emily detailed how when she "was pregnant and postpartum and carrying a bit of extra 'padding', people used to celebrate the fact I was confident and comfortable enough in my own body to wear a bikini."

But now that she's lost the weight gained during pregnancy and at her fittest, people haven't reacted as nicely.

"People say things like 'why do you have to wear a bikini?', 'mums shouldn’t show their bodies like this' or 'you love yourself!'" the fitness influencer wrote.

In June 2020, Emily welcomed her second child, Izaac, during an unexpected home birth. And yep, she was candid about it.

Speaking to Mamamia previously, Emily shared how hard it was - and how hard she worked - to get fit afterwards.

"I've been a lot easier on myself [with baby number two]," she told us. (Emily also has four-year-old, Mia.)

"This time, instead of looking at what I wasn't and how far I had to go, I really practiced gratitude for what I had, and what my body was doing.

"Rather than looking at how my body looked, I'd appreciated how it functions and what it does for my babies," she added.

In February 2021, Emily launched her post-pregnancy program on her platform, Emily Skye FIT. To make her content relatable and helpful, she filmed it in real-time.

"I did it with my real body," Emily said. 

"I wanted to be at the same stage as everyone else would be at, and not wait a year until I was fit again. I wanted to show that it was challenging for me even though I'm a fitness professional."

Read more: When fitness influencer Emily Skye didn't "snap back" after her baby, she felt like an imposter.

So, why now that she's shown how far she's come - and embraced everything in-between - are people mad?

Speaking to Mamamia this week, Emily said she thinks she might understand why.

"The people saying these things are either feeling insecure, struggling with worthiness or body confidence," she said.

"I really feel for these people as I’ve been there before."

She continued: "I just wish we could live in a world where women wouldn’t try to drag other women down all the time. I really try to encourage my online community to be kind and supportive to one another.

"So many of us get caught up focusing on how we look and what could be seen as imperfections when we should be grateful for what our bodies do for us every day to keep us alive! 

"We don’t have to be a certain shape, size or fitness level in order to have a 'bikini body'."

Although she shouldn't have to explain herself, the mum-of-two shared why she posts these bikini photos - during pregnancy, postnatal and now.

"I want to be a good role model to my kids, especially my daughter, Mia. I also try to be who I needed as a role model when I was younger," she said.

"Life is too short to have negative feelings towards our own bodies and I only wish that every woman learns to love and accept themselves and appreciate what they’ve got. 

"It took me way too long."

Feature image: Instagram/@emilyskyefit