Bella Hadid says she now makes a conscious effort to protect her mental health after years of believing she “didn’t have the right to complain” or have therapy.
The supermodel acknowledged her privileged upbringing but said she had always been “misunderstood” by people around her and the fashion industry.
Speaking to Vogue, the 25-year-old opened up about her struggles with eating disorders, anxiety and professional burnout.
“My immediate trauma response is people-pleasing,” she told the fashion magazine.
“It literally makes me sick to my stomach if I leave somewhere and someone is unhappy with me, so I always go above and beyond, but the issue with that is that I get home and I don’t have enough for myself.
“For so long, I didn’t know what I was crying about. I always felt so lucky, and that would get me even more down on myself.
“There were people online saying ‘you live this amazing life’. So then how can I complain?
“I always felt that I didn’t have the right to complain, which meant that I didn’t have the right to get help, which was my first problem.”
Hadid, who has modelled for high-fashion brands including Bulgari, Dior and Versace, got a nose job at the age of 14 – something she regrets.
“I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it,” she told Vogue.
“People always have something to say, but what I have to say is, I’ve always been misunderstood in my industry and by the people around me.”
She added: “When you are forced to be perfect every day, in every picture, you start to look at yourself and need to see perfection at all times, and it’s just not possible.
“So now everything that I do in my personal life is literally to make sure that my mental state stays above water.
“Fashion can make you or break you.
“And if it makes you, you have to make a conscious effort every day for it not to break you.”
