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It’s not every day you find yourself relating to a literal supermodel like Ashley Graham. After all, we’ve never walked in high-fashion runway shows, performed on Broadway, written our own books, have countless businesses, or had our own Barbie Doll (mind you, that’s only a fraction of the things she’s done). But the one thing we do have in common is that we know what it’s like to send young children back to school.
With Labor Day behind us, Graham and her husband, Justin Ervin, are like the many parents preparing to send their little ones off. As the parents of three cheerful boys, they know that every morning routine won’t be the same, but with the help of Olly, it’s pretty dang close.
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Graham has been an Olly fan since 2018 and a very proud brand Ambassador since 2019. As her family has grown through two pregnancies and three children later, so has her need for Olly and their products. “It’s even more fun now to be a part of the Olly family,” Graham told us in an exclusive interview. “My husband uses Olly, my kids use Olly — between the probiotics, the sleep [gummy], and the stress [gummy], what else could I need?”
And since she and her family have such an “elite” vitamin game, the young mother of three and Olly partnered up once again to bring you an affordable bundle of all her favorite Olly Vitamins, sold exclusively at Walmart. In honor of the new bundle, we sat down with Graham to talk all things motherhood, morning routines, and much more. Check out what she had to say below and shop her favorite Olly vitamins.
Ashley Graham’s Olly Favorites
Ashley Graham’s Olly Bundle – Adults
SheKnows: Have you always been a “vitamin” person?
Ashley Graham: Oh yeah, I grew up taking vitamins. I don’t know if you took the Fred Flintstone vitamins? My generation was all about the Fred Flintstone vitamins. I’ve never not taken vitamins, and now, my vitamin game is elite.
SK: What’s one thing your kids have taught you about yourself that you didn’t expect?
AG: I will say, I didn’t realize — and I’ve seen other moms do it, but you don’t know it until you’re in it, how much you can actually handle on your plate. I think they’ve made me realize that I can’t do it all, all the time. But when my plate is really full, especially with them on top of the businesses, it’s a great reminder that I am so resilient, and they taught me that.
I’ve always preached this, before I even had kids. I mean, I was preaching this before Instagram that your words have power. But when you have a child that repeats verbatim what you say and you’re like, “Oh, oh, I did say that,” you have to be very careful. And so, I have become much more mindful of the words that come out of my mouth more than ever.
SK: Is there a tradition or ritual you want to establish with your children to make the first day of school special?
AG: We always talk about kindness. And how, even when someone is really mean or says something really mean to us, we still are nice to them. And that’s a through line anytime we drop them off at school. So the first day of school is most important. And being the first one to be the initiator to make friends, because some people are really shy, and my kids are not shy.
SK: What’s it like to be a mom of three? My mother was a mom of three.
AG: Oh yeah? It’s awesome. I feel like I have a little tribe, and they always have each other. I always remind them that “this is your family.” And of course, I don’t say “when mom and dad are gone one day,” but I’m trying to allude to the fact that no matter what, these are your brothers, and your brothers come first. Especially since they all go to the same school together.
SK: Do you have a trick for getting everyone out of the door on time? Or at least close to it?
AG: I set alarms. I set alarms, and they know. The first alarm is “Oh, you’re not done with your breakfast? OK, hurry up.” The second alarm is “if you’re not putting your shoes on, we’ve got a problem.” And I remind them of those things.
SK: How far apart are the intervals?
AG: They’re 15 minutes apart. So it feels like a lot [of time] for a child, but it’s very fast for parents. Like “[gasps] that was 15 minutes? Nooo!” And I really try not to care what mess I’m leaving behind. When I’m going to drop them off, I’m like, “I don’t need to clean now, I can clean later. Leave the eggs out. It doesn’t matter, Ashley.”
SK: Is there a parenting hack that you swear by?
AG: Oh wow. Well, something new that we’ve done is that we started chores. Everyone is upstairs, so they can’t come downstairs until they’ve brushed their teeth, put on their clothes, and made their bed. And we put a whiteboard chart outside [their rooms] and they put their initials underneath each thing. And before we did it, it was just verbal confirmation, like, “Did you do this? Did you do that?” And sometimes you get a “yes,” and sometimes you get a smirky smile. And so this way, there’s an accountability to them before they come down. We call it their morning routine. If they didn’t do their morning routine, we send them right back up. I don’t know if that’s a hack, but it’s something new we’re doing.
And we’re teaching the kids how to do their own laundry. I know that they’re [ages] three, three, and five. But there really is something to it, and it really shows them that there’s more responsibility than just cleaning up their toys.
SK: Personally, that’s the best thing that my parents taught me when I was really, really young.
AG: Laundry?
SK: Yes! Because I have to take care of my clothes!
AG: And it shows them independence, and exactly, to take care of the things that are yours.
SK: What is the funniest thing that has happened to you as a mom?
AG: I literally have three comedians. Roman loves an accessory. And when I say accessory, I mean like goggles, or a headset. He has a dinosaur outfit that he likes to wear a lot. He’s very into keeping the sunglasses on through dinner.
Malachi is incredibly eloquent and very smart. He likes to teach people about raptor birds. We went to a raptor museum recently in Oregon, and he knew everything about every bird, which was really great. He’s three and a half.
And the oldest, he really thinks that he is a living, breathing character. He’s got a character named James Wilson. James Wilson is his character, and he’s like, “Hey, baby, my name is James Wilson.” Or he’ll shake his shoulders and be like, “What do you know about James Wilson?” It’s very hilarious. I don’t know how he picked that up.
SK: It’s his show, and y’all are just living in it.
AG: Oh yeah, 100 percent. If I allowed my kids on social media, he would be the number one YouTuber. But he will never be on it.
SK: Can I ask you about that? I grew up with Instagram, and I think that my generation now feels that children shouldn’t be on social media. What advice do you have for a new mom who has friends and family who want to see the baby regularly, but maybe they don’t feel comfortable about posting their children?
AG: Just text it to them. I mean, do what you want. I have family members who have Instagram pages just for their child. It’s a full commitment. But I have seen what it does to young kids for their mental health. And we’ve all seen all the documentaries of these young influencers who are older now, and how it can be really disruptive to their future and to their mental health. So I’m not a fan of it. And until my kids are old enough to have an account and have their own phone to make those decisions for themselves, you won’t see them.
SK: Do you think that social media has changed the way children take pictures?
AG: Oh my gosh, yeah, I think so. Especially when you’re in middle school or high school age. I was never as hypercritical of myself as I see young girls being now. One of my closest friends brought her girls over, and all they care about now is skincare and how they look in their pictures. They were like, “Take a picture, I wanna see how glowy it is,” and that’s a 9- and a 10-year-old. And I know I didn’t care at that age. So it’s messing with kids’ self-image, and I don’t like that.
SK: What are some of your favorite products now that you are a mom of three, and specifically, a set of twins?
AG: The twins in my life didn’t change anything, except for how large my stomach got. And breastfeeding was a situation. But Olly Kids Multivitamin — my kids think it’s a sweet treat, and it’s a great way for me to make sure they’re taking their vitamins. [Another essential is] Crocs with the Jibbitz. I just got schooled on that word the other day. My kids are obsessed with Jibbitz. One will do a theme of the ocean. One will do a theme of dinosaurs.
The other essential is little animal toys. Anywhere I go, I have little dinosaurs or little animals in my purse. When we’re at a restaurant, I’m like, “Here are your animals,” because we’re not an iPad family. Now, they’ve seen almost all the Disney movies — I just want to be clear. On the airplane, there are no rules — they can watch almost whatever they want. However, when we’re all sitting down at a restaurant, it’s the little figurines.
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