The words Liv Lo Golding would use to describe herself? “Gemini”, “chameleon” and “go‐getter”. The last seems to ring especially true of the Taiwanese‐Italian former model, who, as her husband, actor Henry Golding, cheekily revealed on American chat show Live with Kelly and Ryan, accosted him at a New Year’s Eve party in 2010 as he was on his way to the restroom—this, after previously trying (and failing) to get his attention, even after she resorted to dancing on speakers at one point.
This active pursuit of her passions, along with a dogged determination to succeed at whatever she sets her heart on, has resulted in her wearing many hats: TV host, influencer, entrepreneur (she founded the fitness programme FitSphere, which has since evolved into an online wellness portal, in 2017), eco‐warrior (she was named National Geographic Asia’s #PlanetorPlastic Travel Ambassador in 2019), fitness and yoga instructor, wife and, perhaps the most meaningful one of all, mother. The last, especially, is a title the 38‐year‐old wears with pride—after all, it didn’t come easy for her. Her motherhood journey involved negotiating both her and her husband’s hectic work and travel schedules, overcoming a miscarriage and, subsequently, a concerted effort on her part to “slow down, stress less and work less”—a move that included selling her company—before she got pregnant for the second time. When her daughter Lyla was born in 2021, Lo Golding posted to Instagram images of the newborn—including an aww‐inducing one of the infant holding on to her finger—with a caption that reads, in part: “On March 31st, our lives changed forever”.
Some two years on, her life has taken yet another happy turn: Baby number two is on the way. With the arrival of a new family member not so far in the future—her due date is September 1—one can’t help but wonder how the woman who already has so much on her plate (on top of all her aforementioned achievements, she runs Womom, a community for like‐minded women who champion wellness and spirituality to gather for yoga, meditation, retreats and mutual support) will cope with her new role as a mother‐of‐two. As it turns out, she’s taking things well in her stride. This time around, she shares that she is more willing to ask for help and more active in getting things done as per normal. “With the first [child], you don’t know what you’re getting into and so you’re like, I can do that. Now, I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s just work. Let’s finish everything before the baby comes.’” she quips.
And while it’s natural to have concerns about how a firstborn adjusts to a new sibling, Lo Golding lets on that the couple have already shared the news with Lyla, so “hopefully, that will help with the transition [from being an only child to an older sister]. We’re not going to be perfect, and of course she’s going to have real moments, but we’ll just deal with it as a family.”
It’s worth mentioning at this point that Lo Golding lights up whenever she talks about family and her young daughter, whom she describes as “so kind and loving”. Yet, while she maintains that being with Lyla every day “is such a great joy”, she is acutely aware of the sobering truth of motherhood. “Your children take over your life and you have so little time [for] self‐care. The latest statistics say that it’s like a 98‐hour workweek for the average mother, meaning there are only 1.5 hours in a day for yourself,” she says. “You’re still a woman, but who are you other than a mother?”
“You’re still a woman, but who are you other than a mother?”
For Lo Golding, her sense of self has changed radically after her firstborn, who inspired a strengthening not only in her physical but also mental health—not least because, as she shared in an emotional essay penned for online resource Good Morning America Digital in August 2021, this new life was now dependant on her for food, care and love. Showing just how far the ex‐model, who used to struggle with bulimia as well as body image and mental health issues, had come in her wellness journey, she noted in that essay: “When I look at my body now in the mirror, all I see is my baby. I feel like my body has fulfilled its higher purpose—to provide. I no longer fault or judge my body for what it cannot do, because I have seen [first‐hand] the magical creation that it has brought into our lives. A miracle that is us.”
“I no longer fault or judge my body for what it cannot do”
Interestingly, Lo Golding finds the rediscovery of self as well as the healing of one’s existing trauma—a key focus at Womom’s retreats—sparked by motherhood imperative to good parenting. “You’re doing this to break the negative cycle for your own generation and in healing yourself, you’re healing the future,” she expounds. “With your children, a lot of things are a reflection of you.” Speaking of, she hopes that Lyla will one day share her sartorial sensibilities as well as the beloved designs from her wardrobe. “I love knowing that I can hand [them down] to her and that definitely makes me keep those special pieces too,” says Lo Golding. “Fashion has changed for me because you don’t really have your own handbag anymore. But being able to dress up together just gives me so much joy.”
Her identity may have evolved, but her proclivity towards fitness remains. Case in point: She may be expecting, but as with her pregnancy with Lyla, she will be practising yoga throughout this pregnancy. The difference between this time and the last? She is documenting her sessions (the yoga instructor is certified in prenatal yoga) and will share them with the public as a video series to “demonstrate how important yoga is for the mind and body, because health begins with the mother”.
“When I started teaching [yoga] here, there was very little knowledge of [the practice]—I’d talk a whole hour about what it is on radio interviews,” she muses. “It was so new at the time, but now, it has really taken off and people understand it.” And while she will be faced with busier—much busier—days ahead after the baby arrives, she’ll have you know she has no intention of hitting pause on her journey of advocating for wellness—or any of her other areas of interest. In it for the long haul, she will continue to spread awareness of the benefits of staying fit through yoga, breathwork and meditation, and champion other issues close to her heart—even as she juggles her multiple roles both old and new. And judging by the Liv Lo Golding we’ve seen so far, you best believe she’ll make good on all she sets out to do.
PHOTOGRAPHY JAYA KHIDIR
STYLING GREGORY WOO
HAIR GREGO OH, USING KEUNE HAIRCOSMETICS
MAKEUP SHA SHAMSI, USING CHANEL BEAUTY
PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANTS NATALIE DYKES, DANIAL MIRZA, KERK JING YI
STYLIST’S ASSISTANT YULIA SEE
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