Why Quitting Modeling Made Cara Delevingne the Happiest Person in the World

Cara Delevingne bonds with designer Karl Lagerfeld. (Instagram)
Cara Delevingne bonds with designer Karl Lagerfeld. (Instagram)

Contrary to what Instagram suggests, Cara Delevingne's life isn't all about snapping selfies with her good friend Taylor Swift.

The 23-year-old model turned actress spoke candidly about the struggles she had as a successful model in a new interview with the U.K.'s The Times. Here are the four most revealing quotes.

1. On why she's done with modeling: She announced her departure from the industry she's been in since she was 10 last month. Don't worry about her being unemployed, though; she's scheduled to appear in four more movies this year, following last month's Paper Towns, and 2016's high-profile comic book flick Suicide Squad. "I am not doing fashion work any more, after having, like, psoriasis and all that stuff," explained Delevingne, who developed the skin condition from stress and often had to be painted with concealing makeup before walking the runway. "Modeling just made me feel a bit hollow after a while. It didn't make me grow at all as a human being. And I kind of forgot how young I was... I felt so old."

Related: Taylor Swift Celebrates Cara Delevingne's 23rd Birthday With Cleavage Pics

(Instagram)
(Instagram)

2. On life as a top model: Delevingne is a star on social media, sure, but also in the real world, where she once walked in more than 50 fashion shows at each Fashion Week. Still, it wasn't what you think. "It wasn't a good time, I was, like, fight and flight for months," she noted. "Just constantly on edge. It is a mental thing as well because if you hate yourself and your body and the way you look, it just gets worse and worse."

3. On the culmination of all that stress: Psoriasis was just one of the consequences of Delevingne's modeling lifestyle. At 15, she said, "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."

4. On the racy poses she struck as a teen: Delevingne's breakthrough ad campaign for Burberry in 2011, when she was 18, and many other assignments called for her to look sexy and alluring in front of the camera at a young age. While she sometimes didn't feel comfortable, she said she felt pressured to do what was asked. "I am a bit of a feminist and it makes me feel sick," she said. "It's horrible and it's disgusting. [We're talking about] young girls. You start when you are really young and you do, you get subjected to... not great stuff."

Related: St. Vincent Showed Up to Cara Delevingne's Movie Premiere, Love Is Maybe Not Dead

5. On how her work changed her: "I am very good at standing up for myself now, and for other people. If there is injustice I will flip out," Delevingne said. "If someone is crossing a line, they will know about it and so will everyone else." In her new role, she said she feels content. "I am a lot harder than I was and I feel like all of that modeling, life, rejection, everything, was preparation for this, and now that I am doing this I am the happiest person in the whole world."