Fame ain’t all it’s cracked up to be
From backstage antics with Joan Smalls and Karlie Kloss to party snaps with Kendall Jenner, one would assume Gigi Hadid’s squad is maj. But as Gigi reveals in her July cover interview for US Harper’s Bazaar, as her public popularity has gone next lev, many of her real friendships have dropped off big time.
She explains that many of her old friends don’t understand her new career and the demands that fame – and her hectic and constant travelling lifestyle – take. “There are people who understand that I love them and who know that when I get back to town I’m going to call them, but sometimes I can’t call every day because I’m in weird places. I’ve lost a lot of friends because I’ll get busy for a short period of time, and they’re not reaching out, but if I don’t reach out, then it’s like I’ve changed,” she says.
When your public profile grows, Gigi explains, “a lot of interesting things in friends come out. So in a way it’s good because you learn that it’s better to have a few really good friends than tons of friends you aren’t really sure about”.
Thankfully for Gigi, her supermodel sister Bella understands better than anyone what it’s like, and is a major support. “She’s so understanding of the demands of this job, and it’s really great that I can talk to her about it.
“Because a lot of the time I feel suffocated by my own work ethic and by the expectations I put on myself. It’s really nice when you have people who say, ‘It’s okay to take time for yourself’.”
Related video: Gigi Hadid on 10 things you didn’t know about her
However Hadid – who is dating singer Zayn Malik – has one friend she can always count on though, it’s Taylor Swift. And the love runs the other way too, as Swift told Harper’s: “As a friend, Gigi is one of the first people I go to for advice.
“She has this incredible ability to see all sides of a situation and simplify it for you, to see the complexity of people…Gigi’s #1 rule is to treat people the way she’d want to be treated, so she’s on time (or early) to work, says hello to everyone on set, asks them how they are, and actually listens to their response.
“She is an innately kind and inclusive person who has managed to become a huge power player and businesswoman without ever compromising that,” she adds.
It sounds like Gigi has discovered it’s better to have a small, tight squad than be surrounded by a whole lot of mean girls.
