Rebecca Lim Broke Down Many Times Over Comments About Post-Pregnancy Body; Here's How She Regained Her Confidence
The 38-year-old Mediacorp actress, who is the new ambassador of BMF The Aesthetics People, recalls how people thought she was still pregnant after her confinement.
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When she walked into the room in her form-fitting white gown, we immediately noticed something different about Rebecca Lim.
Sure, her skin is still flawless and her smile as warm as a hug as ever, but what felt special was a striking confidence we haven't seen from her in a while.
8days.sg is at BMF The Aesthetics People's Orchard Gateway outlet where Becks was just introduced as the brand's new ambassador.
The 38-year-old Mediacorp actress is the face and body of the aesthetics clinic's The Postpartum Edit: A 12-Week Journey, a curated body wellness program to help mummies regain their confidence and strength after childbirth.
As it turned out, Rebecca had a tough time emotionally while trying to get back into shape after pregnancy.
She married branding exec Matthew Webster, also 38, in 2022 and they welcomed their baby boy last February.
The actress, who gained 30kg during her pregnancy, recalls one very traumatic experience a month after giving birth.
It happened when she was at Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour concert in Singapore last March.
“Three people asked me when I was giving birth and I didn't know how to react. I was right out of confinement and was just expecting to have a good time out of the house finally," she tells 8days.sg after the event.
She admits she was "very hurt" by the comments, albeit unintentional, as she thought she looked good that night.
"Taylor Swift was performing but I was like: 'I don't care, I feel like crap now'," she says.
Becks says she was too mortified to bother correcting those people.
"So paiseh, of course I wouldn't say that!" she says.
Despite going for postpartum wraps, Traditional Chinese Medicine cupping and acupuncture, her weight didn't go down.
That was when she decided to seek professional help from BMF after a friend recommended it to her.
However, she wasn't very consistent with the treatments at the beginning as she felt guilty about leaving her baby son at home.
"It was only until recently, about four months ago, when I knew the Star Awards was coming up. I was like: 'I think I need some help!' and started going more regularly," she chuckles.
While the actress didn't want to share how much weight she has lost thanks to BMF, she says she can finally fit into the jeans she wore during her honeymoon in 2022.
"I feel a lot less insecure," she beams. "Of course there are bad days, but the good days are a lot more than the bad days and that's already a huge win for me."
Becks says she has always been very conscious about her weight since she was a little girl.
"I was a very chubby kid growing up. I was often made fun of, in and out of school, so as a young girl I was already struggling with my weight," she recalls.
She's also never considered herself skinny.
"I just look healthy," she laughs. "Then I entered the entertainment industry, where there is so much scrutiny on how you look, right? I have to always be very disciplined in what I do, what I eat. And of course after pregnancy, [I became] even more conscious."
There's been "many, many moments" she broke down because of the changes to her body after childbirth.
"You perspire all the time. No one has ever told me that. Just a bit of walking I'm perspiring. And you smell of milk, you feel so dirty and unkempt all the time," she says.
It didn't help that there were many unsolicited comments about her body and the way she looked.
She knows some were out of concern for her but they still rubbed her the wrong way because she was feeling "so hormonal".
"They would be like: 'Oh you look so tired' but actually [I] felt so good already. One such comment really made me feel like: 'Huh? You mean I look like crap?'," she says in exasperation.
She usually has a "very good cry" to help herself feel better after such incidents.
"I just need to remind myself that I'm already doing my best and giving so much... Why do I have to constantly be so hard on myself?," she adds.
While she used to Google her name to read what people say about her, she has since switched off her social media notifications.
"The worst case is if someone comments something terrible and I read it. I just delete," she laughs. "I don't care, I just delete."
Does she have the habit of asking her hubby questions like: "Am I fat?", "Did I gain weight?"?
She snickers: "I don’t think any wife has ever not asked her husband [that question]."
However, she says Matthew asks her those questions more than she asks him.
"Usually we don’t say anything [in response]. We just say: “I still love you"," she laughs.