Emily Ratajkowski has written about motherhood, divorce and dating after the birth of her son. The model became a mother in 2021 with her then-husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard.
The couple married in 2018 after a short romance. They later welcomed their son, Sylvester Apollo Bear, before their relationship ended. Their split and planned divorce were announced in 2022.
Ratajkowski has since described how motherhood affected her marriage and sex life. She said the relationship changed sharply after Sylvester was born, she also wrote about the physical and emotional impact of childbirth.
She described a difficult transition into a new stage of her life. The change involved caring for a newborn while adjusting to marriage and recovery. She said the period felt both fast and painfully slow.
“In a time period that felt both instant and excruciatingly slow, my marriage collapsed,” she wrote.
“Six months after my son was born, my husband and I stopped having sex. Less than a year later, we separated.”
Ratajkowski addressed single motherhood
At the time of their split, sources close to the pair claimed Bear-McClard had cheated. One source described him as a serial cheater. Neither Ratajkowski nor Bear-McClard publicly addressed those rumours at the time.
Ratajkowski also wrote about how people treated her after the breakup. She said she disliked the pity she felt from others. She believed people saw her as someone who had been rejected.
“I hated the condescending way people looked at me in the wake of my breakup,” she wrote.
She said people gave her sad looks while saying they were sorry. Ratajkowski said she felt reduced by the way others viewed her. She described feeling judged because she had become a single mother.
She said the term had seemed frightening to her when she was younger. As a child, she believed becoming a single mother should be avoided. She said it had felt like a warning about making the wrong choices.
“The term itself could be lodged as an insult,” she wrote.
Model discussed dating after separation
Ratajkowski also reflected on her earlier beliefs about sex and relationships. She said she had never had a one-night stand before her divorce. She believed keeping her body count low had offered emotional protection.
“I thought it meant no one would ever cheat on me, that I’d always be loved, happy, and safe,” she wrote.
She said she avoided sleeping with people unless she believed they might love her. Ratajkowski said she wanted to be seen as precious. After becoming single, she began exploring a different relationship with dating.
She described trying to become a new version of herself through sex and dating. The dating period took place while she was navigating single motherhood in New York. She said the experience became part of rebuilding her identity.
Ratajkowski said her post-divorce dating life included several different men. They included two DJs and a vegan graffiti artist with “impeccable posture.” She also mentioned a chef, a Spanish Gen-Zer and several Italians.
The list also included a heavily self-medicated son of a billionaire with questionable politics. Her comments drew attention because of their honesty about dating after divorce. They also added to wider discussion about motherhood, sexuality and public judgment.
Essay prompted online discussion
Ratajkowski’s comments led to renewed interest in her marriage and separation. Many readers focused on her admission about intimacy ending after childbirth. Others discussed her description of being judged as a single mother.
The model has previously spoken about women’s bodies, image and control. Her latest comments continued that public discussion from a personal angle. She connected motherhood, desire and independence through her own experience.
Ratajkowski said becoming a mother changed how she saw herself. She also suggested the end of her marriage forced her to rethink old beliefs. Those beliefs included ideas about safety, desirability and being a “good” woman.
Her reflections described a painful but significant shift in her life. The breakup left her dealing with judgment and uncertainty. It also pushed her toward a new understanding of herself.
The account focused on what happened after Sylvester’s birth and her separation. Ratajkowski described the period as difficult, intimate and transformative. She also presented single motherhood as part of her changed identity.
Featured image credit: Instagram/@emrata
