Inside Cara Delevingne’s years of addiction and mental health struggles: From waking up with a hangover aged SEVEN to an out-of-control Burning Man trip that led to those ‘heartbreaking’ paparazzi shots
- Supermodel Cara Delevingne has been the darling of the fashion world for years
- Her reputation began unravelling after a series of increasingly-erratic outings
- But it seems the final straw was her appearance at a private airport in Van Nuys
For years, Cara Delevingne was the darling of the fashion world after rocketing to supermodel stardom at the age of 10 – in a Bruce Weber shoot for Vogue Italia – but her reputation began publicly unravelling following a series of increasingly erratic outings.
The final straw, it seems, was the publication of pictures that showed her looking distressed at a private airport in Van Nuys, California, after returning from the Burning Man Festival where she was ‘not eating all that much and… looked disheveled,’ according to a source.
The star was photographed with dark rings around her sunken eyes, as she wandered around in her socks and dropped her phone multiple times.
This week, the 30-year-old reflected on her mental health struggles and addiction battle in a new interview with Vogue, released on Wednesday, after revealing she had checked herself into rehab and committed to a 12-step recovery program.
For years, Cara Delevingne was the darling of the fashion world after rocketing to supermodel stardom – but her reputation began publicly unravelling after a series of increasingly erratic outings
In August, Cara sparked further concern after being spotted sitting alone in her parked car in West Hollywood, and at one point the British-born beauty was seen with a long, round object – resembling a pipe – in her mouth
Speaking to Vogue magazine as their April cover star, she confessed that she hadn’t been ‘ready’ to tackle her demons before, but after finding herself in a ‘bad place’ she realized she needed to prioritize her recovery.
She added that the ‘heartbreaking’ images had provided her with an urgent wake-up call and given her the motivation to finally get help.
She told the publication: ‘It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, “Okay, I don’t look well.”
‘You know, sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way those pictures were something to be grateful for.’
But Cara has been no stranger to controversy, with rumors swirling for years that the supermodel, who has previously been described by friends as ‘the life of the party,’ was using drugs.
Photographers even caught her holding a small zip lock bag of a mysterious white substance in 2013 – but she insisted that it never got out of control.
The supermodel previously admitted to struggling with depression – even once considering suicide at the height of her fame.
Andin an interview with Stylist magazine, she confessed that she never thought she would live to age 30.
The final straw, it seems, was the publication of pictures that showed her looking disheveled and distressed at a private airport in Van Nuys, California
‘Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be alive at this age,’ she said. ‘I literally couldn’t wait to turn 30, because the 20s are f**king hard.
‘You’re basically still a teenager – but you’re meant to be an adult and everyone’s telling you this is the best time of your life.’
But, having now been sober for about four months, it seems that reaching rock bottom was the motivation she needed to get back on her feet.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look back at the troubling downward spiral that the star is now making a comeback from.
Cara’s ‘chaotic’ childhood: Supermodel first tried alcohol at just seven years old
The supermodel’s troubles started at an early age. She was raised by her socialite mother who secretly battled a heroin addiction and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
‘It shapes the childhood of every kid whose parent has an addiction. You grow up too quickly because you’re parenting your parents,’ she said in 2015 of her mother’s drug problem, adding: ‘My mother’s an amazingly strong person with a huge heart, and I adore her.’
She also spoke out about her upbringing to Harper’s Bazaar UK, saying: ‘Everyone has something they go through with their family. My life, I feel, was very stressful because there was quite a lot of chaos – not being sure if people were OK or not.’
Cara (pictured in her father’s arms as a child) said her first experience with alcohol was at seven years old during a family wedding
Cara’s socialite mother, who had connections to the royal family, struggled with a heroin addiction and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Pictured: Cara with her mom and sister Chloe in 2014
Cara told Vogue that her first experience with alcohol was at just seven years old, during a family wedding.
‘I woke up in my granny’s house in my bedroom with a hangover, in a bridesmaid’s dress. I’d gone around nailing glasses of Champagne,’ she said.
The youngster was then prescribed sleeping pills to manage her insomnia at the age of 10, before being diagnosed with dyspraxia.
The model came out as pansexual in 2020, admitting that she’d struggled with her sexuality as a child, and this had contributed to her mental health issues and self-harm that began at age 15.
‘All of a sudden I was hit with a massive wave of depression and anxiety and self-hatred, where the feelings were so painful that I would slam my head against a tree to try to knock myself out,’ she said to Vogue.
‘I never cut [myself], but I’d scratch myself to the point of bleeding. I just wanted to dematerialize and have someone sweep me away.’
She described her family as ‘old-fashioned and repressed’ to Variety, explaining that she feared she would ‘upset them’ if they found out she wasn’t straight. This led to her being unable to ‘accept’ that part of herself.
Cara’s mother (pictured right in 2004) was secretly battling a heroin addiction and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Her grandmother served as the lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret, and because of her mother’s connections to the royal family, Cara (seen with her parents and siblings) admitted that she grew up ‘in the upper class’
‘I just didn’t want to admit who I was. I didn’t want to upset my family. I was deeply unhappy and depressed,’ she said. ‘When you don’t accept a part of yourself or love yourself, it’s like you’re not there, almost.
‘I think holding that thing in was fundamental to why I exploded in the way I did mentally. Once I could talk about my sexuality freely, I wasn’t hiding anything anymore, and the person I hid it from the most was myself.’
In her later teen years, Cara was put on what Vogue described as a ‘cocktail of psychotropics’ and she began smoking pot, but she stated that she was ‘completely mental with or without drugs.’
‘I couldn’t wake up in the morning,’ she admitted. ‘The worst thing was that I knew I was a lucky girl, and the fact that you would rather be dead… You just feel so guilty for those feelings It’s this vicious circle. Like, how dare I feel that way? So you just attack yourself some more.’
She added to Variety that she ‘felt so lost’ and never had a ‘sense of pride.’
‘A sense of pride is like a sense of belonging, a family outside your family, a place where you don’t have to apologize or feel ashamed,’ she said.
‘I guess I never felt like I belonged anywhere as a kid. Or I always felt like I didn’t belong in my own body. I felt so lost.’
Her recent descent: The cover girl’s spiral to rock bottom
The first recent sign that Cara was seemingly on a downwards trajectory was during her 30th birthday celebrations in August last year.
The supermodel looked worse for wear as she was joined by A-list pals including Sienna Miller and Margot Robbie on a lavish yacht trip around the Spanish island of Formentera.
She was photographed tucking into what appeared to be a bowl of frosting before bizarrely smearing it over her lips.
The supermodel looked worse for wear as she smeared frosting over her mouth before grappling with friends
Further pics from the birthday trip showed the supermodel speaking to Margot Robbie very expressively as the pair walked on a beach
Cara then began grappling with pal Adwoa Aboah in an attempt to rub the paste over her too.
Further snapshots from the trip showed the supermodel speaking to Margot Robbie as the pair walked on a beach.
Her facial expressions were exaggerated and she waved her arms as she appeared fully engrossed in the conversation.
Later that same month, she sparked further concern after being spotted sitting alone in her parked car in West Hollywood.
She was photographed taking drops of an unknown liquid from a pipette and smoking in the driver’s seat.
At one point, the British-born beauty was seen with a long, round object – resembling a pipe – in her mouth.
She was photographed taking drops of an unknown liquid from a pipette and smoking in the driver’s seat
The cover girl proceeded to rub her face exaggeratedly and blow her nose multiple times.
Cara later changed outfits in her car, emerging in a purple Jimi Hendrix T-shirt and a pair of shorts that revealed her bruised legs.
She then threw on sunglasses and a bucket hat and browsed in a sex shop for about 30 minutes.
Just days later, she’d attended the Burning Man Festival – an event held ‘in the pursuit of a more creative and connected existence in the world.’
She’d kept a relatively low profile at the gathering, which was hosted last year in the Black Rock Desert.
But sources told DailyMail.com at that time that the model did not eat or shower while at the event.
Cara (pictured at Burning Man in 2016) is a regular attendee of the festival – an event held ‘in the pursuit of a more creative and connected existence in the world’
The source said: ‘She had just spent days in the desert, not eating all that much and she looked disheveled because she hadn’t had time to scrub up yet.’
He went on: ‘Her friends are worried about her generally after some erratic behavior, but she has a good group around her.’
The source concluded: ‘Her sister was at the festival with her. She wasn’t alone and she has her back.’
Once she returned, the former ‘It Girl’ seemed to have reached rock bottom – as evidenced by her disheveled appearance at Van Nuys Airport.
She was wearing a Britney Spears T-shirt, black joggers and yellow socks – but no shoes.
In a series of pictures and video, she appeared unable to control her movements as she strolled around the private airport, repeatedly bending over and dropping her phone.
The one-time ‘It Girl’ seemed to have reached rock bottom – as evidenced by her disheveled appearance at Van Nuys Airport in September
The Only Murders in the Building star was wearing a Britney Spears t-shirt, black joggers and yellow socks – but no shoes
Sources said at the time that the Only Murders in the Building star was two hours late for her flight.
She boarded Jay-Z’s Puma private jet for about 45 minutes before she disembarked, but it is not clear if she had been asked to leave the plane or not.
A member of the model’s party spoke with staff at the airport but, eventually, Cara’s bags were removed from the plane and put back in the SUV that she arrived in.
Despite all this, it seems as though the star was able to temporarily put her bizarre behavior on hold as she hit the red carpet for Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show in Simi Valley, California, in early November.
She was all smiles as she donned an electric blue, off-the-shoulder gown with a flowing sheer skirt.
Cara was one of the celebrities, alongside Irina Shayk and Johnny Depp, that dazzled in Rihanna’s ‘Vol. 4 fashion show,’ which aired on Amazon Prime.
The supermodel hit the red carpet for Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show in Simi Valley, California, in November 2022
In a clip, which was filmed earlier that month, Cara was decked out in a skimpy set of black lace lingerie and positioned amid a sea of models in BDSM gear.
The significance of this appearance was that it was the last public outing Cara made before taking a brief hiatus from the spotlight.
It is not known exactly when the model entered rehab, but she told Vogue this week that her commitment to sobriety is some four months and counting.
The cover girl’s comeback: Cara makes a triumphant return to the red carpet
Despite her turbulent lifestyle, it seems as though the beauty may have finally turned a corner, having made a triumphant return to the red carpet during her appearance at the Screen Actors Guild awards in February.
It was the first time she had officially stepped out following her temporary absence from the limelight.
She stunned in a black trouser suit and floor-length cape for the event in California.
The beauty made a triumphant return to the red carpet during her appearance at the Screen Actors Guild awards last month
In an interview with Vogue, which was published on Wednesday, Cara revealed that she had been sober for four months and counting
In the Vogue interview, she explained that she had checked herself into rehab in late 2022 after not seeing a therapist in three years.
The star, who is currently in a relationship with musician Leah Mason, admitted: ‘I always thought that the work needs to be done when the times are bad, but actually the work needs to be done when they’re good.
‘The work needs to be done consistently. It’s never going to be fixed or fully healed but I’m okay with that, and that’s the difference.’
The model has committed to a 12-step program and now has weekly therapy sessions, having been introduced to psychodrama – in which patients act out events from their past.
Cara has said that she is taking each step at a time, going ‘second by second,’ but that there are long-term personal goals she is working toward, including motherhood.
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