Gemma Ward walks the runway while pregnant: ‘I really appreciate my body now'

Gemma Ward may be pregnant but she’s not letting it get in the way of her career. The expecting Aussie supermodel, who jetted home to walk the runway at the David Jones Spring/Summer show tonight, strutted her stuff like a pro alongside ambassadors Jessica Gomes and Jesinta Campbell.

“I feel like I’m a bit slower on the catwalk because of my bump,” Ward told Be with a laugh. “But apart from that it’s all good. I was quite happy that David Jones wanted to embrace my pregnancy.”

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Ward is now past the dreaded first trimester, which she admits wasn’t the easiest, but that things are much better now.

“I’m feeling so great at the moment,” Ward said. “It’s been nice having everyone congratulate me. I’m really excited to be walking in tonight’s show. It’s nice to get all dressed up and see all these beautiful clothes and all these beautiful people!”

Ward, who returned to the catwalk in 2014 after a six-year hiatus, told Be that her pregnancy had forced her to accept her body for its function, rather than what it looks like.

“I’m definitely a lot more forgiving of my own body now,” she explained. “It’s seriously amazing. You really do focus less on what you look like and what it can do, and you realise why everything is built the way it is.

“I felt like my body functioned better when I became pregnant. Things just worked better. It was like my my organs just said, 'look we’ve got a job to do, we have to step this up!’ You get a lot of appreciation for your body and you look at women who’ve been through it differently.”

Ward was one of a number of ‘MILFs’ who appeared in Fergie’s recent video clip, which also starred Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen. Featuring milk showers and plenty of bombshell looks, it was a celebration of motherhood – and Ward embraced the experience fully.

“Oh my god!” she exclaims, laughing when Be asks her about it. “I feel like I’m doing all these things now that are bringing me out of my shell and making me understand that not everything has to be taken so seriously. That video clip was so much fun. It was one of those things that was so frivolous and amazing to be a part of.

“The amount of people she had in it was insane. She’s so lovely though that I can totally understand why everyone agreed to it. It was a testament to her and all the mums out there. It was so over the top, I just loved it.”

Ward is already a mother to two-year old Naia, who she says is dying to become a big sister.

“Naia is really happy about my pregnancy,” said Ward. “She wants a girl baby for mummy. One of the reasons I actually wanted another child was seeing her with other kids, especially babies. She goes up to them and cups their cheeks and waves their hands in the air. It’s so cute! She’s so interactive with babies, so I’m really excited to see her with our new bub.”

While Ward has said in the past that she wouldn’t steer Naia away from modelling if that was the career path she wanted to take, she also says she likes to impress upon younger models the importance of their health.

“I recently told an aspiring model to stay in school,” Ward explains. “Obviously I had a great career and left school, but that’s what I say to everyone!

“The other main thing that I try and impress upon the younger girls is to keep really on it with their health and wellness. You can get sick really easily, which is what I found when I was working really hard. My health deteriorated a lot, particularly between the time zones.

“It’s so imperative to keep on top of your physical and mental health. You can easily get burnt out. Take time out for yourself. Have a steak once in a while goddammit!".

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