"I didn’t post this photo while we were away because I hated how my stomach looked."

When mum of two Olivia White saw this photo of herself, she had no intention of making it public.

A post shared by ✖️ OLIVIA WHITE ✖️ (@houseofwhite_) on Nov 28, 2017 at 1:22am PST

It wasn’t the kind of photo that she considered perfect, she says. Her stomach didn’t look how she wanted it to.

And then, well, she got over that. She put it on the internet before she had a chance to change her mind.

“I didn’t post this photo while we were away because I hated how my stomach looked,” she wrote on Instagram.

“As much as I try to be self confident and be positive about my appearance, it’s not just a switch and one day you’re completely 110 per cent okay with yourself. it’s a daily thing, and you have good and bad days. But you can’t stop, especially when you have little eyes watching you. You just need to keep reminding yourself everyday that you’re amazing no matter what anyone else or your own brain tries to trick you into thinking. This is a beautiful moment between my daughter and I, a memory I want to treasure forever. And nothing can ruin that.”

And lucky she posted. Since it went online, the photo has been celebrated by her followers and by news outlets. In an era when information and body positive messages are free-flowing online, saturating our news landscape, this one cut through.

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This one went viral.

“I originally had the image ready to post, but decided not to because I didn’t like my stomach,” Olivia told Mamamia of the moment she decided to post it. “I kept going back to it thought because I loved the image otherwise, a beautiful moment on holidays with my daughter. I realised that it was a stupid reason not to post it and had a friend of mine said the same thing I’d have said: ‘Post it you d*ck it’s a beautiful photo’.”

And as for the reaction? Well, she says, it’s not ever something you expect.

“I absolutely did not expect it to get the reaction it did. I’ve had dozens if not hundreds of messages and emails from people sharing their own experiences which is so amazing. When I woke up to it shared on US Weekly, with links back to previous body positive articles they’d run of mine it made me super proud to know that’s the message I’m putting out there and that it’s resonating with so many people.”

And we’re all for seeing more beautiful images like it on the internet.