Bella Hadid started this year a little heartbroken, telling Teen Vogue in February, relatively fresh off her breakup with The Weeknd, that "it'll be hard for a while. Love hurts, but you have to pull through." It's the end of June now, and time has truly healed her, Hadid made clear in a new interview with InStyle.
Because yes, Hadid is still single, unlike The Weeknd who jumped into a very public relationship with Selena Gomez in January. But dating is not her top priority; living is. "When you're happy, you want to eat and experience and enjoy life," she said. "I'm there! And I'm eating, and I'm living! And I've gained a couple pounds, but I'm good!"
Hadid also detailed how she actually met Kendall Jenner (the two have been friends longer than Jenner has been friends with Hadid's sister, Gigi.) It was on the internet: "I met her for the first time seven years ago over Twitter," Hadid explained. "That was before we started modeling; I was probably 14 or 15. We met up and had sushi, and now we're best friends. She's a pretty significant human I met online."
Hadid spoke about the downside of social media too—that sometimes the negative comments and tabloid stories really do get to her. "I learn new things about myself every day because of the stories that are put out about me," she said. "They'll say that I had a conversation with someone I've never even met before. Or people will judge me for things I can't change. Imagine that somebody is telling you that you're a piece of sh*t every day on social media. You kind of feel like, 'Well, am I a piece of sh*t?' You don't really know."
A part of her, she said, wants to "go to the house of that random person from Twitter who is in Missouri and tell them, 'I promise, I'm a nice person! We could be friends! It doesn't have to be like this!' But it's a very strange world."
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
