"[Your children are] only little for so long and even though it's hard, I think it's way more important to cherish those moments than it is worrying about how you look or what size you are."
When she first became a mother in 2007, she was raising her now-10-year-old son Rylee as a single mom without any support from his father.
Ten years and another child later, Tess has not only achieved her dream career, but she also has her fiancรฉ Nick Holliday to share her life with.
Although she has a parenting partner this time around, the pressure to be the perfect mom is stronger than ever thanks to the rise of social media and blogging.
Even though she is famous, Tess is not immune to seeing photos of mothers with seemingly angelic children that are enjoying artfully crafted organic meals.
"The world of mommy bloggers, and moms online in general, is so blood in and blood out," she said. "You expect them to be supportive, but they are way less understanding than I thought they would be."
Tess took to Instagram in February to share an emotional photo of herself crying, explaining that she had been sobbing for hours because "the pressure of 'looking good' for a living is too much today."
The mother-of-two explained that she had been crying for nearly two hours when she wrote the post, adding: "I've reached my limit, exceeded it to be honest."
The candid post attracted some negativity, with some claiming she just wants attention, but Tess said, overall, the responses made her "feel less alone" and gave her a "sense of community."
Tess is also a body positivity advocate, and earlier this week, she hit back at an Uber driver who told there is no way she can be healthy because of her size.
The model shared a short video of the man asking her about her cholesterol, explaining: "My driver who is fat is questioning if I am healthy."
Not only was Tess appalled by her driver's line of questioning, she vowed to never use Uber again.
An Uber spokesperson told Daily Mail Online that they "expect all riders and drivers to treat each other with respect as laid out in our Community Guidelines."
The footage has been viewed more than 250,000 times, and, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of conflicting opinions in the comments section.
Some were appalled on Tess' behalf and thought her driver was unbelievably 'rude', while others believed the man was just making casual conversation about health and scolded her for vilifying him on social media.
Tess returned to Instagram on Thursday with a series of videos "to clear up some of the misconceptions" people had about her post about her Uber driver.
"It was never intended to shame him at all," she explained. "First of all, when I called him fat it was a descriptor. He was fat. I'm fat. It doesn't mean, necessarily, I was being negative because I wasn't. It was more to point out that people of all sizes shame.
"Secondly, I feel like most people are missing the point of this. Do I think he was being rude by saying those things to me? Do I think that he was doing them maliciously? No, I don't, but that's the problem. He was shaming me and giving me unsolicited advice about my body based on the way I look and my size which is wrong.
"Like I said. It's not right. It's not okay. No one ever, regardless of your size, should give you unsolicited health advice. Ever. That's the point of the post," she added.
Tess went on to say that she hopes people understand that she was in no way being a 'bully'.
"The reason I said I had was a 'fat wallet' was not to imply I am rich, but to basically say, 'I have money and I will be spending it elsewhere.' It is as simple as that."
