Exclusive | Barbara Palvin on the ‘crazy journey’ of returning to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 6 weeks postpartum: ‘We’re strong!’
Supermodel? More like superhero.
Just six weeks after welcoming her first baby with husband Dylan Sprouse, Barbara Palvin will be back on the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2026 in Los Angeles Sunday evening.
“I’m happy. I’m excited. I hope I don’t fall!” the Hungarian catwalker told Page Six Style backstage in LA before the show, downplaying how quickly she’s gone from giving birth to returning to work.
“I tell everyone: This is normal. Maternity leave is six to eight weeks; I’m six weeks tomorrow, so I’m just doing what everyone [else] is doing. And I only need to walk down a runway!” she joked.
“Funny enough, my body bounced back — luckily — really quickly. Add I think it’s because I’ve never been healthier. During pregnancy, I really wanted to make sure baby girl was healthy, so I only did organic foods. And now postpartum, because I’m breastfeeding, I wanted to make sure I was eating good. So that’s how I prepped: I just let my body heal on its own and did some light exercises, but nothing crazy.”
It’ll help to have Sprouse cheering her on from the front row as usual, perhaps with a surprise in store; in 2024, the actor brought along cardboard cutouts of the couple’s pets, and in 2018, he hand-delivered Shake Shack to his sweetheart post-show.
“My wonderful husband will be here tonight,” Palvin confirmed. “I don’t know what he’s planning — hopefully nothing, because he has to be taking care of our baby girl right now!”
Today will mark the model’s sixth time walking in Victoria’s Secret’s annual lingerie spectacular; she made her VS debut in 2012, when she was just 19 years old.
“Oh, I was freaking out. I barely remember everything, because it was just such a whirlwind,” Palvin recalled of her first show, adding that she was especially in awe of musical performer Rihanna and her “iconic walk.”
“I was like, damn, I can’t go out there after that!” she said.
Now, nearly a decade and a half later, she’s a certified pro — and shared some advice for others balancing motherhood with modeling (or any other career path).
“We got this, because we’re capable of everything. We’re strong,” she said.
“Don’t be scared to ask for help. Because I’m like that; I want to do everything myself. But I wouldn’t be here if my friends and family hadn’t supported me. They would drop off food at the door, [and] my mom and dad flew out for the first few weeks.”
Tearing up — “The hormones are crazy!” she said with a laugh — Palvin added, “I know this is a crazy journey. But we’re freaking mothers; let’s f—king go!”
The 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will stream live for free at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube and across the brand’s social media channels.
