As Jena Sims prepares to welcome her first child with professional golfer Brooks Koepka, she’s needed to navigate on-line criticism about her physique — and their marriage.
“I didn’t begin displaying till I used to be about six months as a result of I’m only a naturally skinny particular person,” Sims, 34, solely informed Us Weekly on Thursday, July 13, whereas selling her partnership with the nonprofit Baby Quest. “There are such a lot of instances that I’d simply inform individuals I’m anticipating they usually’re like, ‘The place’s that child? No, you’re not,’ [and it felt] like I needed to show one thing, and that’s, almost like a form of body-shaming.”
She added: “Your expectation of how my being pregnant ought to look or how I’m supposed to hold isn’t my duty. … As a result of my husband is already in, like, such a public highlight, we’re beneath a microscope.”
Sims and Koepka, 33, have been together since 2017 after crossing paths on the Masters Match two years earlier. They wed in June 2022 and introduced in Could that they’re expecting their first baby. Sims, who’s presently 7 months alongside, additional informed Us that she has been “very protecting” about her being pregnant and what she shares on-line.
“I do know everyone seems to be like, ‘Simply prepare for the unsolicited recommendation, everyone has an opinion on what I needs to be doing [and] what I shouldn’t be doing,’” she defined on Thursday. “After which the opposite individuals, as a result of I can’t journey with Brooks, they’re telling me that I’m a horrible spouse ‘trigger I can’t be there to help him. I’m actually caring for myself … however on the finish of the day, I simply should do what’s proper for me, and if the medical doctors aren’t involved, I’m not involved.”
Jena Sims John Nacion/Shutterstock
Sims — who flaunted her child bump on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway present earlier this month — additionally isn’t involved by haters calling her a “gold digger” for marrying knowledgeable athlete.
Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims. JLN Pictures/Shutterstock
“Individuals take one take a look at me and they want me to be a gold digger so unhealthy. They need it so badly and it simply couldn’t be farther from the reality,” she mentioned after the couple had been showcased on season 1 of Netflix’s Full Swing. “I’ve by no means give up working. I work even tougher now that we’re married. I’ve so many irons within the fireplace.”
She continued: “It annoys me to no finish that simply because I’ve this persona and I share my life on Instagram and I journey with him and we do extravagant issues [and] they simply need [to] choose a ebook by its cowl and that would not be farther from the case.”
In reality, Sims and Koepka’s marriage has only gotten “better” amid her being pregnant. “Not that we had been ever in a foul place … however we work a lot extra as a staff now,” the mannequin gushed. “Like, Brooks is so excited [to be a dad]. Like, he treats me otherwise — in an excellent, loving method. It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh. His child is in there.’”
Along with prioritizing a healthy pregnancy and marriage, Sims has teamed up with Child Quest, which is a corporation that helps expectant parents cover the costs of IVF, surrogacy, egg and sperm donation and egg freezing.
“Child Quest is mainly funding [and] grants for girls who’re making an attempt to make a child, whether or not it’s by means of IVF, it helps cowl a few of their medical prices or somebody who’s single or just same-sex couples and somebody who’s simply unable to take action,” Sims defined. “That basis is now near and dear to my heart and I hope we elevate a lot cash to assist ladies have the ability to make their very own infants someday!”
Sims initially obtained concerned with the group when she teamed up with jewellery designer Mignon Gavigan to create her personal assortment of their wing-shaped earrings — with a “charitable” twist.
“I used to be like, ‘Oh, I’d like to however let’s make it [with] a charitable factor to it ‘trigger they’re wings. Let’s do it in help of girls who’re struggling being pregnant loss [or] infertility,” she recalled to Us. “So I reached out to a pal of mine, Katrina Scott, who has been very public with like, her journey with IVF and I used to be like, have you learnt any charities that will be good to learn from one thing that I’m doing? And she or he launched me to Child Quest and we truly simply had a brunch luncheon occasion in LA and raised cash for that charity.”
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With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
