Simone Holtznagel and Jono Castano defend controversial before and after photos

Influencer couple Simone Holtznagel and Jono Castano sparked a social media storm by sharing ‘before and after’ pictures of Holtznagel’s gym body, but she stands by them.

Australian fashion model Simone Holtznagel had defended her controversial before-and-after photos posted to Instagram on Monday night.

Reactions to the post made with her celebrity personal trainer boyfriend Jono Castano were intense and divided.

Some praised her physique, and others questioned whether the post promoted “unhealthy” and “drastic” weight loss.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Ms Holtznagel said the photos were “hardly drastic,” explaining she began training at her boyfriend’s gym last October three-four times a week to combat weight she put on over the pandemic.

“Since lockdown ended and I went back to my normal, fast paced busy life, I got back into my fitness routine,” she said.

Simone Holtznagel’s before and after pictures shared to her Instagram.

“People have commented saying it’s ‘triggering’, and ‘before-and-after’ (pictures) don’t belong in 2022 … I thought what we weren’t doing in 2022 was commenting on other peoples bodies.”

She added that she’s changed nothing about her “balanced” diet, eats pasta four nights a week, and never restricts herself from having a cocktail or glass of wine.

“I thought I looked great on the left, I think I look great on the right. One thing I’ll take away from that post is you can’t please everyone. I have been bigger and I’ve been smaller but I was happy in both stages of my life.”

Ms Holtznagel recalled being called “a baby elephant on a national drive radio show by a male radio host,” when she starred on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! in 2018, and “too fat” on SAS earlier this year.

“Now? Oh she’s too thin now. You can’t please everyone, but I’ve never tried to. I’m in a happy, loving relationship with myself and my partner. That’s something I’d suggest to everyone so I don’t really care if people think I looked ‘better’ before.”

In the original post Castano said he was proud of his model girlfriend for the hard work she had put in.

Holtznagel’s 117,000 Instagram followers had a lot to say about the pictures.

Holtznagel defended the post in multiple replies to commenters.

“They’re always quick to judge you but no result comes from an easy journey,” Castano wrote.

“You still eat your burgers from time to time, and focus on highlighting that we can still enjoy a martini or two or five. So proud of you babe!”

Castano has 841,000 Instagram followers, to Holtznagel’s 117,000.

“Gal, this was triggering and not okay to see on my feed,” one commenter said. “Doing a shared post with a trainer who is applauding this kind of drastic weight loss belongs in 2007. Not cool.”

Simone Holtznagel on board The Jackson last week for the launch of the Sydney Everest Carnival 2022. Picture: Richard Dobson

Butterfly Foundation’s Danni Rowlands said photos like these were always going to invite commentary.

“One of the biggest challenges with posting before and after photographs, is what it does to people who are exposed to those images. It invites really unhelpful competition and body comparisons,” said the eating disorder expert.

“We do encourage influencers to be mindful of their impact.”

Simone Holtznagel attending a three course Sheike lunch at Catalina Restaurant in August.

Ms Rowlands urged people to remember that personal training and modelling were for-profit businesses, and posts like Holtznagel’s needed to be viewed through a critical lens.

“There is a lot of benefit for a person who is profiting off weight loss to gain from this. There are self-serving entities in people promoting their approaches, products or training regimes to get to a certain size,” she said.

“If you’re having a negative reaction to a post like that, it’s OK to unfollow.”

Ms Holtznagel agreed: “I feel stronger physically and mentally from having a healthy routine and lifestyle and if that’s triggering for anybody then don’t look. I think I have always promoted feeling confident in your body and being entirely yourself and I’m going to keep doing that.”

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