NEED TO KNOW
- Barbara Palvin is set to walk in the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, six weeks after giving birth to her first child
- The model’s appearance was announced in a joint post on Instagram with Victoria’s Secret
- Some comments on the post question whether this is setting an unrealistic standard for women
Barbara Palvin has walked the runway in the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, six weeks after giving birth. The 32-year-old, who welcomed daughter Sylvie Sprouse with actor Dylan Sprouse, 34, in September, spoke to Page Six ahead of the show, joking about the quick turnaround.
“I tell everyone: This is normal,” she said. “Maternity leave is six to eight weeks; I’m six weeks tomorrow, so I’m just doing what everyone [else] is doing. And I only need to walk down a runway.
“Funny enough, my body bounced back — luckily — really quickly. And I think it’s because I’ve never been healthier. During pregnancy, I really wanted to make sure baby girl was healthy, so I only did organic foods. And now postpartum, because I’m breastfeeding, I wanted to make sure I was eating good. So that’s how I prepped: I just let my body heal on its own and did some light exercises, but nothing crazy.”
She shared news she’d be joining the show in a joint post with Victoria’s Secret over the weekend. “Motherhood looks good on you, @realbarbarapalvin,” read the caption. “So does the runway—see you in LA.”
In the clip, Palvin is shown holding a pram with a tag, “Angel on board”. “I’m back, b****,” she says before “Barbara has landed” text flashes on-screen. While many comments were supportive – adult film star Mia Malkova wrote, “MOTHER IS MOTHERING”, while model Ashley Graham commented, “Yesssss my girl!” – others questioned the choice.
One comment, “Wow! She gave birth like yesterday and is already on the show!”, was liked over 100,000 times. “Not a realistic standard for most postpartum moms, but I hope she gets all the rest her body deserves to fully recover,” read another comment.
“She’s a rich woman with a supportive husband and family,” another fan wrote. “Not saying there’s anything wrong with that but it is A LOT of privilege that people don’t have. Good for her though! I hope she recovers and is happy and healthy!”
A handful of other comments mentioned former Victoria’s Secret model Romee Strijd, who shared on TikTok earlier this month that she hadn’t been chosen for this year’s show. The mum to two had walked in the show from 2014 to 2018.
“Why with @romeestrijd you didn’t do the same !!”, one comment read. “Okay yes but what about Romee?”, said another. “Bring all the Mama’s Angel back. @romeestrijd @hesui923”, someone wrote, referring to Sui He, a Chinese-descent model who was in the shows from 2011 to 2017.
Our take? It should be Palvin’s prerogative if and when she wants to return to work.
Palvin, who is originally from Hungary, announced her daughter’s birth in a joint Instagram post with Sprouse on September 28, 2026. Alongside a photo of the duo and their baby, wearing LA Dodgers’ jerseys and facing a TV playing a game, the caption read: “We took Labor Day literally this year”. Labor Day in the US falls on September 7, 2026. This is both Palvin and Sprouse’ first child.
This year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show line-up included Amelia Gray, Ashley Graham, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Precious Lee, Grace Elizabeth, Liu Wen, Joan Smalls, Devyn Garcia, Imaan Hammam, Anok Yai, Abby Champion, Alex Consani, Paloma Elsesser, Gabriela Moura, Yoon Young Bae and Jordan Leftwich.
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