Irina Shayk admitted that as a child she hated being a girl (16 photos)

Model Irina Shayk spoke about the difficulties she experienced as a child with accepting her body. “It’s not that I wanted to be a boy. But I felt like I didn’t belong in my body,” she says.





As you probably know, Irina Shayk is one of the most famous models in the world.



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It was “discovered” by the Intimissimi brand in 2007. Already in 2011, the girl gained worldwide fame by posing for the cover of Sports Illustrated



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Over the years, Irina has openly criticized her physique.



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Back in 2017, Shayk revealed that she didn't feel "comfortable" with her body when she first started modeling. The following year, she admitted to People magazine that she had always been "very critical" of her figure, reflecting on how incompatible the term "supermodel" was with her.



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“I’m only human,” she said. “I don’t wake up with my hair and makeup on and high heels.” I love wearing the most comfortable clothes, and sometimes my agent says to me: “Irina, this is not normal.” And I answer: “But it’s me.”



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"I don't wake up and say, 'Oh my God, I'm so perfect.' I wake up and say, "Maybe it's time to go to the gym; I have cellulite." I'm very critical of myself."



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And now Irina talks in more detail about her relationship with her body.



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In a new interview with Elle magazine this week, Irina admitted that she always felt like she was “born in the wrong body.”



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Reflecting on her father's death (he died when she was 14), Irina said: “My father always wanted to have a boy. He loved us, but when he died, I felt, 'I have to take care of the family.'"



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Irina said that as a teenager she rejected the idea of femininity.



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“I always thought I was born in the wrong body. I hated being a girl. I remember quarrels with my mother; she wanted to dress me in something with flowers. I wanted dark colors and something solid."



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“It’s not that I wanted to be a boy, but I felt: ‘I don’t belong to my body.’”



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Irina noted that she felt like the “complete opposite” of her sister, who loved doing her hair and makeup. Irina often pursed her lips, hoping to make them visually smaller.



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By the age of 20, Irina began working as a model, and when she got comfortable in this industry, she received several critical comments about her appearance from agents.



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"I had agents who said, 'You should cut your hair, lose 20 pounds and go blonde,'" she recalls. "And I said, 'Hell no.'"



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