Hailey Baldwin On Trump, Love And Career: 'I work My Ass Off'

'I work my a** off to prove that this is what I want to do'

In the July issue of ELLE UK, model Hailey Baldwin opens up about being her spiritual and political values, those engagement rumours and taking a digital detox.

On Being Taken Seriously In The Modelling Industry

'I work my a** off to make what I have and to prove that this is what I want to do,' Baldwin tells ELLE. 'I want to be a model. I don't think I would be where I am if people didn't see something in me.

I put all my modelling [photos] on my Instagram because I'm showing it to people. It's not about me getting paid to model for things on Instagram – of course, sometimes we do get paid for things we do for Instagram and Twitter – but there is a line of calling someone an Insta model or an Insta star.'

On Her Spiritual Values

'I quote the Bible all the time. I take it into my everyday life, I'm quite serious about it.

'It's not funny when people joke about it; I actually find it quite offensive. It's something that's really important to me and I've seen it change a lot of people's lives. It certainly did in my family [her father Stephen became a born-again fundamentalist after September 11]. It's something I plan to stick to for the rest of my life – raise my kids that way, marry someone who believes in the same things. It's important to me.

'Spirituality is a good way of being able to always be connected with something that's bigger than you. It's an anchor.'

On Being The 'Mom' Of Her Friendship Group

'I'm the 'mom'. I like taking care of people, I like nurturing people…We sometimes call Kendall [Jenner] 'Mamma Kens' because she's very rational. She has a good head on her shoulders and she's a straight thinker…I'm kind of like an encyclopaedia. I'm a little nerdy to be honest.'

On Her Dad Being A Trump Supporter

While her uncle Alex is impersonating Trump on Saturday Night Live, her father, Stephen, is a Republican. She says, 'I've differed with my dad on pretty much everything in politics, especially lately, but I'm 100% my own person…It is what is it. They're my family at the end of the day. I love them to death, but it's never going to permanently change anything for me. I've always had my own thoughts on politics.'

On Whether She Considers Herself Liberal Minded

'I don't know if I would necessarily label myself as one thing. I know what's right. I know when I see our nation being destroyed because of poor decisions [made] on other people's part. We're in a horrible time in our country and it's sad, but I think the one positive that's come out of it is people coming together across the world, standing united – that's awesome. You have to try your best to see the positive in all the dark stuff that's going on. That's what I try to do.'

On Those Engagement Rumours

Talking about when people took that picture of her wearing Chrissy Teigen's wedding ring a little too literally, she says: 'We were talking about rings and she asked me what I'd want if I got engaged. I have an idea, but I wouldn't force the boy to let me design it. We were just goofing off and she said I could try hers on, so I did. We posted a photo and I think I wrote, 'I said yes!' but it was to Chrissy. People took it too far, as they always do.'

On Her Digital Detox

Last Christmas, Baldwin completely shut down her Instagram account for four weeks. 'I just needed a break. There were a lot of things happening for me personally at that time and I was kind of depressed. I totally understand when people say they need time to themselves. It made me realise that. I'll leave [my phone] in the car when I go to eat or I'll leave it somewhere so I'm not checking it every two seconds.'

On Her Relationship

During ELLE's interview, YouTube megastar Cameron Dallas sits on a table behind with Baldwin's parents - it was the first time they had met. 'He's not my boyfriend yet. Technically, I'm single' she says, but the meet is making her jittery. 'It makes me so nervous, oh my God. I don't want my mom to be like, "So…"' she says, flicking her head between their table and where ELLE is sat. The burgeoning relationship won't be a shock to Mum and Dad, though. 'My parents know everything. I've cried to them and been like, "I don't understand why he blah blah blah…" And then my mom always says, "You need to show a lot of grace and be patient and forgiving." And then there's my dad, who's like, "You know he's never going to change."'

Read the full interview in the July issue of ELLE UK, on sale 20 June.