Ulrika Jonsson has shared that her son was teased in school after she posted a picture of her naked body on social media.
The Swedish-born TV presenter has four children between the ages of 28 and 15.
In her recent column for The Sun, Jonsson, 55, shared her views on recent comments made by Made in Chelsea star Ashley James about misogyny and the pressure and judgement placed upon women’s bodies.
Jonsson stated that while women facing more body scrutiny compared to men is unfair, in her view, it is “par for the course” and something to be expected when sharing pictures online.
While making her point, Jonsson recalled the reaction when she posted a nude picture on Instagram.
“The other day, my youngest male Ungrateful [Malcolm] – a hormonal 15-year-old boy – confided in me that he’d been teased by some older boys at school about the fact that I ‘post nudes’ on social media.”
After adding that Malcolm was “understandably upset and concerned”, the former Gladiators host noted that he was referring to an image she posted for the men’s mental health charity, StrongMen.
The photo shows Jonsson outdoors while her naked body is in profile as she covers her “most important bits with a strategically placed wheelbarrow”. After two weeks, the photo was removed from the platform due to a claim that she was “soliciting sex”.
(Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Jonsson then noted that while some applauded her for her courage, she “was also trolled” for the daring picture.
“Some said I looked scrawny and old, that I was attention-seeking, sad and desperate,” she said.
“This is par for the course when women show off any parts of their bodies or pose ‘sexily’. We expose ourselves physically and we become targets for those who have opinions about our bodies.”
Malcolm is Jonsson’s youngest child, whom she shares with her ex-husband Brian Monet, an American advertising executive.
Though they split in 2019, Jonsson and Monet lived together during the Covid pandemic to co-parent their son.
In 2021, Jonsson told Best magazine that Malcolm had suffered bullying at school some years prior, saying that seeing her son suffer “nearly killed me”.
“I felt I was expecting him to have greater resilience than my girls and, all the while, I wanted to shield him from the pain,” she explained.
“In short, I had different expectations of him and I shouldn’t have. Am I the only one who thinks we need to tip the balance of attention in favour of our boys a bit more?”
