Barbara Palvin appeared in a Victoria's Secret fashion show six weeks after giving birth wearing underwear, which earned her a lot of praise, but she doesn't want to accept these compliments.

In multiple interviews, this model, who was born in Hungary, downplayed the uniqueness of this move, stating that in the United States, many new mothers also return to work within a similar time frame.

The 33-year-old model told USA Today backstage at the fashion show, "In the United States, maternity leave is six to eight weeks. I will be exactly six weeks away from finishing my leave tomorrow, so it’s no big deal. I’m just doing what every woman in America does.” The fashion show took place on October 18th in Los Angeles.

She also said to Page Six, "And I only need to walk a short distance on the runway."

According to data from the OECD Family Database, by 2025, among the 38 OECD countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, the United States will be the only one that does not have nationwide paid maternity leave.

According to the Family and Medical Leave Act, new mothers in the United States are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave with job protection, but they must meet certain eligibility requirements. New mothers must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours within those 12 months. Additionally, the employer must have 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of their workplace.

Federal employees are generally entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave, but the law does not require private employers to pay wages during employees' parental leave. Some states, such as California, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maine, have paid family leave programs, but most states do not.

Data released this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis shows that American mothers take an average of 7.2 weeks of leave to take care of newborns.

Palvin has been married to actor Dylan Sprouse since July 2023. On September 7th, she gave birth to their first child, a girl named Sylvie.

In 2019, Parveen was appointed as a "Angel" for Victoria's Secret. She made her debut on the Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2012. At the 2025 Victoria's Secret fashion show, Sprouse told reporters that Parveen had broken her foot four weeks prior, yet she still stepped onto the runway with "feet that were only half-healed."

The first Victoria's Secret fashion show was held at the New York Plaza Hotel in 1995. The show was first broadcast online in 1999, and its popularity was so high that it caused the hosting website to crash.