Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | June 5, 2026
Ilona Maher is a bona fide superstar. The rugby player has helped to popularize the sport for women for a whole generation of fans, and her delightful social media presence is a bright spot on a very depressing platform. She's used Instagram a lot to talk about body positivity, advocating for bigger, stronger bodies, especially at a time when hyper-skinniness is back. It's bleak out there, my friends, and seeing Maher, who is tall and physically imposing and ready to scrum, is exciting. She also rejects the entire notion of impostor syndrome, owning her success and talent in ways female athletes are usually discouraged from doing. What's not to love.
Recently, she walked the runway for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit show, wearing a fabulous array of summer-ready outfits. Truly, she looked great.
Some of the comments called out a few looks, saying that they were unflattering on Maher's body. She responded accordingly.
"You guys have been leaving just the best comments. There's a way with words and you just, you say what you feel. Honorable." She shared a photo of the offending swimsuit, a blue and white striped number with a deep-V cut, one that she picked for the runway, not the magazine. "In terms of, 'it's not very flattering.' Okay, I hear you. I don't think it was my best look I've ever worn, or the best suit I've ever worn, for sure. Is it unflattering, or is it just a bigger body existing in a suit? I don't know, you tell me. It could be the other way around."
I think Ilona is really savvy at talking about these issues and doing it with both heft and humour. She does pose a pretty major question here: how often are insults about our bodies wrapped up as concern or criticism about "unflattering" outfits? "Unflattering" usually means that your body far is on display in some form, and that it should be hidden at all costs. As someone with a round belly and large thighs, I certainly feel the pressure to avoid tight-fitting pieces lest someone judge me, even if I liked the outfit. It doesn't take much for a person, but especially a woman, to be scolded as fat and hideous and unfit for the public gaze. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that Jessica Simpson's high-waisted jeans inspired months of discourse. At a time of GLP-1s, MAHA, and the backlash to body positivity, I feel like we hear these "unflattering" claims more than ever to anyone who isn't rail-thin, and even the skinny girls get it if they "go too far."
Whatever you think of the swimsuit Maher was wearing -- certainly, I think she had on much nicer ones for that runway show -- it must be exhausting to always hear these microaggressions towards your body. She's an Olympic medal winning athlete and Dancing with the Stars runner-up, and even that doesn't stop the patriarchal stranglehold that wants women to be as small and pliable as possible. Let's take being unflattering over being easy to flatten.
