Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher is no stranger to speaking out against unrealistic beauty standards. A strong advocate for body positivity, she recently voiced her frustration with the flood of weight-loss content dominating social media.
In a TikTok video posted in February 2025, the 28-year-old athlete shared her concerns about the constant promotion of extreme weight loss and diet products. “I feel like every time I open up social media nowadays, I'm hit with an ad for a weight loss supplement, or I see a thin celebrity is even thinner,” she said in the clip.
Ilona expressed frustration with the way weight loss transformations imply that certain body types are less worthy. She highlighted how social media promotes an unrealistic standard of beauty, making it seem as though only smaller bodies are acceptable. She said that she gets many “before, and afters” where the “before is a gorgeous girl and the after is also a gorgeous girl but almost making it seem like that before wasn't worthy.”
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Maher reinforced the importance of body acceptance, emphasising that not everyone is meant to be thin, saying that “it is okay to exist in a bigger body.” She spoke about embracing her natural size and encouraged others to do the same. Her message centred on the idea that beauty is diverse and not confined to a single ideal, pushing back against the notion that only one body type is desirable.
“A lot of us are not meant to be small. I'm not meant to be small. This big old frame, I'm supposed to be 200 lbs., which is what I am now.” She added, “I know I share these messages a lot, but I just don't see a stop to this.” Ilona has consistently used her social media platforms to promote body positivity and self-acceptance. Committed to continuing this conversation, she encourages others to challenge societal beauty standards and embrace their bodies.
In July 2024, the Olympic medal-winning rugby star went viral for her video showcasing how carbs are extremely important to fuel the body.
In the video, the athlete stated, "I think there's some misconceptions about what athletes eat. We eat a lot of carbs. I have got three forms of carbs on my plate right now. A bread roll, a croissant, a crepe.” Gesturing to the food on her plate, she encouraged others to eat well and avoid depriving themselves.
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