Bella Hadid Opened Up About Her History of "Abusive" Relationships

Bella Hadid is getting candid about her history of abusive relationships and how she struggled to establish boundaries. During a recent appearance on Victoria Secret's VS Voices podcast, Bella opened up about how she previously lacked limits, which would lead to abuse sexually, physically, and emotionally and left her in a cycle of going back to people that had taken advantage of her in the past.

"I grew up around men – whether that was in relationships, or family, or whatever that was – where I was constantly told that my voice was less important than their voice," the supermodel revealed about the challenges of her childhood, adding: "Then, moving into relationships growing up and not having the boundaries of being able to stick up for myself and have my voice heard affected me in my adult relationships very intensely, where my nervous system would crash."

She went on to explain how her coping mechanisms weren't very effective. "It was fight or flight," Bella said. "Either I would become silent and cry and go inward, or I would lash out and leave."

Without naming names, Hadid acknowledged that not only men, but also women had abused her. "I constantly went back to men — and, also, women — that had abused me, and that's where the people-pleasing came in," she said. "I started not having boundaries, not only sexually, physically, and emotionally, but then it went into my work space. 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."

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After a combination of therapy, meditation, and staying off social media, Bella revealed that she's now living a life that's "true to me." She added, "Now I'm able to open up and speak my mind, especially within my relationships and within my family."

Bella has always been open about her challenges with mental health. Back in November, she shared a series of crying selfies alongside a note about her "mental and physical pain." In an interview with WSJ. Magazine, the model reflected on the post, telling the outlet, "I would have really depressive episodes and my mom or my doctor would ask how I was and instead of having to respond in text, I would just send them a photo. It was the easiest thing for me to do at the time because I was never able to explain how I was feeling."