Bella Hadid: 'Constantly Went Back to Men ... That Abused Me'
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Bella Hadid: 'Constantly Went Back to Men ... That Abused Me'

by Kenna McCafferty

Bella Hadid recently opened on the new Victoria's Secret "VS Voices" podcast , sharing that her love life has been anything but a fantasy. During her appearance, Hadid reflects on her former "people-pleasing" patterns that took a major toll on her mental health.

"I constantly went back to men — and also, women — that had abused me, and that's where the people-pleasing came in," she told host Amanda de Cadenet on last week’s episode.

In a field where the image is everything, Hadid became transfixed on the opinions of others, allowing them to determine her self-worth, which ultimately impacted her work and personal life.

"I started to not have boundaries, not only sexually, physically, emotionally, but then it went into my workspace... I began to be a people-pleaser with my job and it was everyone else's opinion of me that mattered except for my own because I essentially was putting my worth into the hands of everyone else and that was the detriment of it," she said.

The subject of a series of high-profile relationships, most notably her on-again-off-again relationship with The Weeknd, Hadid explained the inner tumult of her star-crossed romances: "My nervous system would crash. It was like fight or flight. Either I would become silent and cry and just go inward or I would lash out and leave."

The supermodel also cited her childhood, where growing up with mother Real Housewives star Yolanda Hadid, father real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and sister Gigi meant feeling like her “voice was never heard.”

Through a combination of therapy, meditation and social media cleansing, fashion’s it-girl is embracing a life that feels “true to me.” We love to see her living her truth!

Though this is the first time Hadid's outwardly spoken up about past unhealthy relationships, her openness isn't at all surprising. More and more, the star seems to be sharing sides of herself that typically remain private. Most recently, Hadid has shared her approach to sobriety, and posted a number of vulnerable images on Instagram last year hoping to spread awareness about her struggles with mental health.

Photo via Getty/ Bellocqimages/ Bauer-Griffin/ GC Images