Yolanda 'my daughter needs a nose job' Hadid and the problem with almond mums.

Content warning: This post includes descriptions of disordered eating that may be distressing to some readers.

'Almond mum' content is growing bigger and bigger on TikTok every day.

What is it, you may ask? A critical look at parents, mostly mothers, who project their own restrictive diets onto their kids – mostly daughters.

In terms of celebrity 'almond mums', no one seems a better fit for the title than Yolanda Hadid.

When you think of mother-managers (ahem, 'momagers') in the world of celebrity, one of the most recognisable has to be none other than the Kardashians' Kris Jenner. But Yolanda has certainly made a name for herself in the same space too.

Watch: Yolanda Hadid's controversial moments. Post continues below.

Yolanda is back in the Zeitgeist recently, particularly due to her former son-in-law – former One Direction boybander Zayn Malik – doing his first interview in six years on the Call Her Daddy podcast. 

In the interview, he spoke about both his daughter with ex-partner Gigi Hadid (Yolanda's daughter), and an altercation he had with Yolanda herself in 2021.

Yolanda is best known for starring in the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for a number of seasons, particularly while she was still married to famed musician and producer David Foster.

She's also famous for helping her three children – Gigi, Bella and Anwar Hadid – rise to fame in the modelling world. As a former model herself, Yolanda certainly knows a thing or two about the industry. And she also knew about its f**ked diet culture.

On Real Housewives, viewers regularly got to see inside the Hadid family, and were often shocked at the comments Yolanda made to her daughter Gigi, who – at the time – was an up-and-coming model.

Gigi: "I'm feeling really weak. I had like half an almond."

Yolanda: "Have a couple of almonds and chew them really well."

Um...

It didn't stop there, though.

Yolanda: "Are you excited about your birthday tonight, Gigi?"

Gigi: "I'm so excited for the food. Pretty much all the food we're eating is a heart attack in a meal. But it's going to be so good. I was actually really good this week."

Yolanda: "You can have one night of being bad. Then you're going to go back on your diet though."

You may be shocked to learn that for Gigi's graduation farewell, they had a giant cake to celebrate. You may not be quite as surprised (although definitely horrified) to hear that Yolanda forbade Gigi from having even a sliver of it.

Image: Bravo/Mamamia.

Another particularly painful-to-watch moment was when Yolanda was concerned Gigi was playing too much volleyball, and that it would change her physique. 

Yolanda also suggested that playing volleyball was proof her daughter could be a lesbian.

"They train four hours a day after school so their bodies are big and bulky and they eat like a man. I want her to develop as a woman. I thought my daughter was a lesbian [for playing sport]."

Gigi isn't the only daughter to be impacted. 

Bella Hadid, Gigi's younger sister, recently spoke about the regret she has for getting a nose job at just 14.

"I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors," she told Vogue. "I think I would have grown into it."

Hadid, who is of Dutch and Palestinian heritage, explained that she felt pressure when comparing herself to her older sister and fellow supermodel Gigi.

"I was the uglier sister," Hadid said. "I was the brunette... and when you get told things so many times, you do just believe it."

For Hadid to get a nose job for cosmetic reasons at that age, she would have to have gained parental permission – and it's this little tidbit that hasn't exactly gone down a treat with the general public.

Many noted they felt uncomfy about the Hadid matriarch giving her approval for one young teen to get cosmetic surgery – while discouraging another from eating any celebration cake.

In the same Vogue interview, Bella went on to say that she struggled with anorexia in her teen years.

Although Bella made no reference to her mother or the restrictive diet practices we often saw taking place within her family home on screen, it certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth of an objective outsider.

Reflecting on the comments made on Real Housewives, Yolanda recently clarified her opinion during an interview with People.

"This is taken so far out [of context]," Yolanda said. "This was a small little clip from Housewives. Gigi was calling because she wasn't feeling good and I apparently said, half asleep, 'Have two almonds.' I don't even remember why two or what. There was no rhyme or reason to it. It's such a silly narrative that is out there, that has nothing to do with the reality of our lives."

Listen to Mamamia's podcast Cancelled on Yolanda Hadid. Post continues after audio.

Even though it's been a decade since those controversial clips first aired, the backlash has grown over the years thanks to resurfaced videos being shared via TikTok.

Poking fun at the criticism, Yolanda posted a TikTok video of herself walking around her Pennsylvania farm snacking on a large bowl of almonds, calling herself the #worstmomever.

"I always have a bag of almonds or a different kind of nut in my bag because when my blood sugar drops, I can grab a hand of nuts and eat them,' she said. 

"It's really good for that. But it's not that I use it as a diet food. I don't believe in diets anyway. For me, I eat super clean and super healthy because I need to for keeping the inflammation down in my body."

The irony, of course, is just how many comments Yolanda has made on the topic of diets over the years. She has attached morality to food (not cool), made countless references to 'clean' eating (also not ideal), and reinforced practices of disordered eating (very, very uncool).

And you know what else? She didn't ever eat any of that cake. And that, friends, is a tragedy in our books. 

If you need help or support for an eating disorder or body image issue, please call Butterfly's National Helpline on 1800 334 673, chat online or email support@butterfly.org.au. Confidential and free support is available seven days a week, 8am-midnight (AEDT). For more information about eating disorders and body image, visit butterfly.org.au.

Feature Image: Bravo/TikTok/Getty/Mamamia.

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