Kylie Jenner: The Biggest Truths And Misconceptions On Postpartum Depression – And The One Crucial Thing A New Mother Must Choose To Do In Times Of Struggle

Awards season is now in full swing. Stars were aligned to celebrate yet another year of great performances. Timothée Chalamet was amongst them. He’s wins throughout his career include an Actor Award, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and a Grammy Award. Supporting him by his side this year was none other than Kylie Jenner, his partner of 3 years. That’s what he called her during his acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Awards, and the internet was buzzing. He said, ‘Lastly, I’ll just say thank you to my partner of three years. Thank you for our foundation. I love you. I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.’

It wasn’t Chalamet’s shoutout to Jenner that got the internet buzz in motion. It was his choice of words in referring Jenner’s his partner rather than his girlfriend. Some saw it as him diminishing their relationship, whereas others saw it as him seeing her as his equal. It was a “true crime” debate. Naomi Magnus, founder and psychotherapist at Low Cost Therapy said of the matter, ‘These days, we openly celebrate independence and self-definition, so relationship language tends to celebrate two complete individuals choosing each other, rather than merging them into a single identity.’

Chalamet is a young well-established Hollywood actor. He starred in some AMAZING movies and delivered absolutely astounding performances. His success is certainly well deserved. Jenner is a successful public figure and businesswoman in her own right. Beyond her social media influence, she’s renowned for her beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics, which has significantly contributed to her net worth, currently estimated at $700–$750 million. Her wealth is primarily derived from her 44% stake in her beauty brand, which she founded in 2014 when she was just 17 years old, multi-million dollar real-estate portfolio, and social media endorsement deals.

That said, if there’s one woman out there who doesn’t need a man, it’s Kylie Jenner. In fact, none of the Kardashian-Jenner women ever needed men in their lives to be successful. Their empire was initially built with mindset of Kris Jenner, their “mommager”. Kylie’s beauty empire had expanded to an empire after multiple collaborations with Kylie’s sisters, Kim and Khloe Kardashian. By July 2018 and at the age of 20, Kylie became the youngest person to be listed in the Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women with an estimated net worth of nearly $900 million. She continues to expand her business empire by launching new product lines like Kylie Swim, a swimwear line, in August 2021, and Kylie Baby, a skincare product line for babies, in September 2021. To add to it, Kylie has invested in multiple real estate business ventures.

In her personal life Kylie’s been thriving as well. She has two children with her former boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott, whom she was in a relationship with between 2017 and 2022. Stormi Webster was born in 2018 when Kylie was 20. Aire was born in 2022. In an interview with Elle magazine conducted in 2024, Kylie opened up about her journey to motherhood, ‘I got pregnant when I was 19. Having a baby really young was more shocking, maybe, because I saw these changes happening to my body—all these new stretch marks and things that I didn’t have before. I felt like I was on autopilot. I haven’t had a baby in a few years. The first part of my 20s was having children, learning what my personal style was, and then losing it—not knowing how to dress, gaining 60 pounds for both pregnancies. It took me a year to feel like myself again. At 27, I feel more confident and more like myself than ever.’

Kylie had previously also opened up on her postpartum depression in a Vogue interview earlier that year. She said, ‘Stormi’s lasted a year. I’m going to be 27, and I’m finally feeling like myself again. I think, being pregnant, I didn’t have time to figure out even some of the little things in my life, and then postpartum lasted a year. Mentally, it’s really hard. Hormonally, it’s really hard. It hit me differently both times. Probably with my son it was major baby blues, so I was just so emotional over things that I probably wouldn’t be that emotional about. On the phone with my mom all day hysterically crying, saying, ‘I can’t figure out his name.’ When I met him, he was just the most beautiful thing to me and I couldn’t believe just how perfect he was. I felt like such a failure that I couldn’t name him. He deserved so much more than that. It just really triggered me. My son’s name was actually Knight for a long time. And my daughter, still to this day, is like, ‘Do you remember when Aire’s name was Knight? That was so funny, Mom. I like Knight better.’ To which Kylie quipped, “And I’m like, ‘You know what, we are not doing this again.’ No matter what I’m going through or what I look like or what the internet writes about me that day, I come home and my kids just love me unconditionally. They’re just obsessed with me and that’s taught me to walk through life a little easier. I’m like, ‘OK, well I have these little humans at home that need me and love me and think I’m the most perfect person in the world, so I don’t really need validation from outside sources.’

Someone like Kylie Jenner opening up about her postpartum depression is important because it normalizes the struggle for millions of mothers, reduces stigma, and encourages others to seek help, showing that even with resources, it’s a real challenge. Her vulnerability highlights that perfection is a myth, validates the intense emotional and physical changes, and reminds women it’s okay to not be okay, lessening isolation and promoting mental health awareness in motherhood. To break it down more thoroughly:

Key reasons for its importance:

• Reduces Stigma: Celebrities speaking out on taboo topics like mental health helps break down shame, making it easier for everyday women to admit they need help.

• Normalizes the Experience: Her candid sharing shows that postpartum depression isn’t rare and can affect anyone, even those who seem to have it all, combating the pressure to appear perfect online.

• Validates Feelings: She validates the intense sadness, anxiety, and feeling that things won’t get better, assuring other moms their struggles are real and temporary.

• Encourages Help-Seeking: By sharing her story, she encourages others to seek support earlier and to be kind to themselves during the challenging transition to motherhood.

• Shifts the Narrative: It shifts focus from unrealistic ideals of bounce-backs to the reality of mental and physical healing, promoting self-compassion and realistic expectations. 

What she shared:

• Crying daily for weeks and experiencing intense head pain.

• Feeling a loss of self and connection after her first child, Stormi.

• Realizing she was putting immense pressure on herself and that “it’s okay not to be okay”. 

As she struggled to find solace in her grief over her struggle with postpartum depression, Kylie turned to her older sisters Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, who became mothers before her, for advice. She also had Khloe, who became a first time mom only a few months after Kylie, for support. She had a lot of people around her to lean on. She had a community. She had support. And yet, even she couldn’t escape the hardships that come with having a baby. It’s comforting to see public figures like Kylie Jenner opening up about the challenges of postpartum depression and sharing their experiences. On the outside looking in, you think she has everything. But then she you realize that she’s really just like anyone else and, in a twisted way, she’s even relatable.

Postpartum depression, alongside everything that comes with it, doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care for race, status, disability, or sexual orientation. It doesn’t even care for one’s gender. YES: men can struggle with postpartum depression too. Statistics show that 1 in 10 new fathers struggle with it. Symptoms include sadness, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, changes in sleep/eating, and withdrawal, with risk factors including partner’s depression, sleep deprivation, history of depression, and financial stress. It’s a serious condition impacting the whole family, requiring recognition and treatment, just the same as in mothers. 

One piece of advice Kylie shared to new mothers is, ‘I would tell those women not to overthink things and to live all the emotions of that moment to the fullest. Stay inside that moment, even if it is painful. I know, in those moments you think that it will never pass, that your body will never be the same as before, that you will never be the same. That’s not true: the hormones, the emotions at that stage are much, much more powerful and bigger than you. My advice is to live through that transition, without fear of the aftermath. The risk is to miss all the most beautiful things of motherhood as well. It’s such a unique and special situation, and it’s all about building with these little beings that you’re learning about. It is perhaps the most beautiful moment.’

These were the words of wisdom Kylie shared to Vanity Fair Italia in 2023. These were the words I truly wish someone had told me when I myself first became a mom, especially in the first year, even two. I almost hope to have a second child so I can enjoy exactly the little moments that Kylie spoke about. I’m not being naive. I completely understand that postpartum depression can come back if I’m ever blessed enough to have a second child. But there will be one difference in the experience, and it’ll be a big difference to say the least. That big difference is that I won’t have negative energy around me during postpartum.

Having negative energy around you during postpartum can refer to two main things: your own potential symptoms of a postpartum mood disorder (like depression or anxiety), or a stressful external environment with unsupportive people. Both scenarios can be challenging, but it’s important to know they are common, treatable, and not your fault. 

When the “Negative Energy” is Your Own

Many new parents experience the “baby blues” (mood swings, anxiety, sadness, irritability) in the first two weeks after birth due to hormonal changes. These feelings usually fade on their own. 

However, if “negative energy” in the form of persistent negative thoughts and feelings lasts longer than two weeks or gets worse, it may be a sign of a more serious condition like postpartum depression (PPD) or anxiety (PPA). 

Key Symptoms of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety:

• Persistent sadness, hopelessness, or empty mood.

• Intense irritability, anger, or rage.

• Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities you used to enjoy.

• Difficulty bonding with your baby or persistent doubts about your ability to care for them.

• Withdrawing from family and friends.

• Significant changes in appetite or sleep patterns (insomnia or sleeping too much).

• Overwhelming fatigue or lack of energy.

• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.

• Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, or suicide attempts (a medical emergency). 

When the “Negative Energy” is from Others

A new parent needs a supportive environment, and unhelpful or critical people can increase stress and the risk of developing more serious mood disorders. 

Action Steps:

• Limit visitors: It is okay to set boundaries and say “no” to non-urgent demands or visitors if you are tired or overwhelmed.

• Communicate your needs: Talk to your partner, trusted family, and friends about how you are feeling and what kind of support you need.

• Ask for and accept specific help: People may want to help but not know how. Ask them to help with specific tasks like cooking, cleaning, running errands, or watching the baby while you rest.

• Join a support group: Connecting with other new mothers (or parents) can help you realize you are not alone and share experiences. Postpartum Support International offers resources and online groups that can be found on their website.

• Know it’s not you, it’s them (sometimes): Some unhelpful comments or negativity from others are projections of their own insecurities or lack of understanding about postpartum challenges. Focus on your well-being and your baby’s health. 

The two biggest challenges I faced in my postpartum months and years were isolation and loneliness. Let it be known, my son is now 3 years. Only recently did I feel like myself again – like how I used to before I had him. To add to it, I felt fearful. I constantly feared that I was fucking up; screwing up. I was constantly questioning myself whether I even made the right choice in having a baby to begin with. My child didn’t deserve such a fuck up as a mother, right? He deserved more than what I had the energy to give him.

The biggest enemy throughout my postpartum depression was me, myself, and I. I was so hard on myself. I wasn’t kind to myself. I didn’t believe in myself. But the biggest hurdle I had the time was the negative energy that I felt at the hands of others. More particularly, it was the negative energy I’d felt at the hands of my father-in-law and my husband’s stepmother. Whenever I was around them, I felt on edge; I felt stressed; I felt a sense of anxiety I’d never felt before around anyone else in my life. I felt a sense of loneliness I didn’t know even existed.

Whenever we’d see my husband’s father and stepmother, I’d constantly be judged for my choices, as well as the choices I made for my son. In their eyes, especially in my husband’s stepmother’s eyes, there was nothing I could ever do right. She was a “know-it-all” just because she had two teenage daughters, and therefore, it was “my duty” to listen to her and do as I was told by her and no one else. At some point, she completely crossed a line in the way that she spoke to me and my son, and my husband and I both decided that unless she apologized – like, genuinely apologized – there’d be nothing left to our family relation. Neither me, my husband, nor my son need their negative energy around us.

Life can already get so chaotic when you’re a new mom, why even more chaos when you can simply erase it from your existence? The biggest I learned through my time of adjusting to life as a new mom was that you can never make anyone happy; and you can’t control anyone. But what you CAN control is your surroundings. It’s totally okay for others not to agree with my choices. What’s not okay is not respecting those choices. This is exactly where my father-in-law and husband’s stepmother went wrong. They both individually went to great lengths to let it known that I was “ruining” my husband’s and my son’s lives. For years, I was very patient and tolerant of their behaviour towards me. That said, even the most patient people can run out of patience. For me, that time came once they involved my son in the mix. You can try to fuck with me all you want, but when it comes to my son and his well-being, I recommend you don’t even start trying to mess with me. I don’t care if it’s a friend or a family member. If you don’t show your support and respect, you’ll be out of the picture.

Surrounding yourself with positive, respectful people during the postpartum period is crucial for several reasons, significantly impacting your emotional health, recovery, and transition to parenthood. To break it down more thoroughly:

Key Benefits

• Emotional Support and Validation: Postpartum is a time of immense hormonal shifts and new challenges. Supportive people provide a safe space to express feelings without judgment, which helps normalize your experiences and combats feelings of isolation or inadequacy.

• Reduced Stress and Anxiety: Positive relationships act as a buffer against stress. Having people who help with practical tasks, offer kind words, and create a calm environment directly lowers your stress levels, which is vital for your mental well-being and recovery.

• Boosted Self-Esteem: Respectful individuals acknowledge your efforts and strengths as a new parent. This positive reinforcement is a powerful tool for building confidence and self-esteem during a period where self-doubt is common.

• Practical Assistance: A strong support system often translates into tangible help, such as preparing meals, running errands, or watching the baby so you can rest. This practical aid is essential for physical recovery and managing the demands of newborn care.

• Improved Mood and Mental Health: Strong social support is a protective factor against postpartum depression and anxiety. Positive interactions release feel-good hormones, while isolation can exacerbate feelings of sadness and loneliness.

• Healthy Role Modeling: Respectful relationships model healthy communication and boundaries, which can positively influence your interactions with your baby and partner.

Ultimately, a supportive circle creates an environment where you feel seen, valued, and capable, providing the necessary foundation for a healthy and fulfilling postpartum experience. You can explore resources on postpartum support, self-care, and finding a supportive community.

Going back to my previous post where Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Grace, in her newest movie Die My Love, the biggest hurdle in her life that severed her postpartum depression was that she was completely alone. She didn’t have anyone to turn to. She didn’t have a community. What’s worse than having no community, especially during the postpartum period, is having the wrong community. Once my father-in-law and my husband’s stepmother were out of the picture entirely, things started falling into place. Parenthood was still hard; really, really hard. And nevertheless, it was still easier than when they were still in the picture, even in a limited capacity. My body and mind suddenly became at ease. I suddenly felt a sense of relief; even happiness and joy in being a mother to a little human. That’s exactly how I knew that cutting my father-in-law and my husband’s stepmother was what needed to be done for our own safety and sanity; as well as for our son.

Life is tough enough on its own. Everyone is carrying their own load, facing battles that aren’t always easy to see. I believe the people around us should lift us up, not weigh us down even further. Being around negativity or constant drama only drains the little strength we work hard to build each day, especially as new mothers. I want my space to be peaceful, with people who bring a sense of calm, encouragement, and warmth.

If someone is adding more stress or sadness to my life, I have no problem stepping away. Protecting my peace is important because I know how heavy life can already feel without extra pressure from others. I want to spend time with those who understand, who choose kindness over judgment, and who make the hard days a little easier to bear. Being around the right people makes the weight of life feel a lot lighter.