Bella Hadid has opened up about how people-pleasing left her abandoning her boundaries in previous relationships.
Speaking to Amanda de Cadenet on the Victoria’s Secret ”VS Voices” podcast, the 25-year-old model revealed that she “constantly went back to men and women that had abused me”.
“And that’s where the people-pleasing came in,” Hadid explained.
“I started not having boundaries – not only sexually, physically, emotionally but then it went into my work space.”
Hadid went on to say how, as a child, she felt like the black sheep of her family.
“I always felt like my voice was never heard growing up,” she said before going on to expand on her upbringing.
“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.
“Then moving into relationships growing up, and not having the boundaries of being able to stick up for myself and have my voice being heard, affected me in my adult relationships very intensely, where my nervous system would crash. It was fight or flight.”
Hadid was asked what helped her to centre herself and regain a sense of autonomy and, in response, listed several lifestyle changes she underwent, including “staying off social media”.
“It sounds very cliche but to not have the energy of everyone else and their projections being projected back onto you is one of the most powerful things of all time,” she said.
“It’s a cliché for a reason because it’s a fact that it works.”
