On Tuesday, Jamie Otis, 34, revealed her “bald spots” in an Instagram video, sharing that “something like this used to get me all sorts of depressed [but] not anymore.”
The former Married at First Sight star wrote, “Here I am completely raw & bare— & balding. I have no makeup, no filter & you can totally see my BALD spots.”
Otis is married to Doug Hehner. They share daughter Henley Gracie, 3, and son Hendrix Douglas, 5 months.
She said, “I have so much hair loss. Postpartum has rocked me to my core, affecting me physically, mentally, & emotionally. BUT, every day I am working towards healing my whole body from the inside, out.”
Otis explained the reason why she was initially reluctant to reveal her condition. She said, “I haven’t talked too much about it bc if I mention it I fear people will think I’m just looking for pity or worse, that I’m not thankful for the amazing babies I have.”
“But that’s the thing about depression — you can’t talk yourself out of it, you can’t put makeup on and instantly feel better, you can’t even spray dry shampoo on your bald spots and expect the sadness that you buried to stay down,” she continued, adding that she feels “so blessed in every way” to have her family.
The Bachelor actress said, “The only reason I am sharing all of this is because I don’t want to be a fraud and post this video where I seem completely happy with my lack of hair and makeup free face. I don’t want you to think I’ve got all my sh!t together all the time bc there are definitely days when I don’t. But today I feel good! I’m not letting the hair loss get to me. I’m embracing my freckles & blemishes.”
“The point is, body positivity & body acceptance is not a ‘flip the switch and it’s turned on’ kinda thing. It’s an on-going personal journey,” she added.
Otis also went on to say “we are more than our appearance. Beauty is an inside thing.” The American Academy of Dermatology Association says postpartum hair loss is completely “normal” and “excessive shedding is caused by falling estrogen levels.”
