Behind all the sparkle and glitter, the supermodels who lit up the runway at the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show were just real women with real pain.
A viral Instagram video pulled back the curtains on their lives, giving a glimpse of the silent battles they have been fighting behind the scenes.
From having their heart broken to landing in hospital beds, here are some of the struggles that the Victoria’s Secret Angels have been going through.
A viral Instagram reel has exposed some of the painful battles that the Victoria’s Secret models were secretly fighting
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
“You never know what someone’s battling inside,” read the caption of the viral video, which featured models like Bella Hadid.
Bella’s walk was scrutinized online after the iconic fashion show.
Many claimed she was struggling to walk with her enormous angel wings for her final walk.
“Bella Hadid, what the f*** wrong with you,” one commenter asked on TikTok.
The 29-year-old model felt compelled to explain herself, saying she was dealing with her period and also still recovering from being hospitalized for symptoms of Lyme disease last month.
“Girl I got my period that morning and my stamina is not up yet after the whole hospital sitch, but I tried my best and I LOVEEEE you for this I’m ok I swear,” she responded to the comment.
“I’m sorry if I let u down. Love you I mean it,” she added.
“Every stunning woman carries her own pain,” read the text in the viral video
Days before the show, the Orebella founder opened up about dealing with “anxiety and depression” for many years.
“It can sometimes feel all-consuming, paralyzing, and invisible to the outside world, leaving you in tears before starting your day, wondering why your mind feels so heavy when life around you seems so bright,” she said in an emotional message, posted in honor of World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10.
Bella said there is a “deep sense of shame” that comes with mental health struggles.
“I sometimes wonder how life has blessed me and how my body and mind are filled with the weight of sadness, depression, and debilitating anxiety on a regular basis,” she added.
Another model featured in the viral video was Candice Swanepoel, a longtime Victoria’s Secret model and top earner on Forbes’ list.
“She was engaged, but after 14 years together they broke up. Now she’s raising two kids on her own,” read the text.
Candice dated fellow model Hermann Nicoli since the age of 17. They were linked together from 2005 and announced their engagement in 2015.
Candice Swanepoel welcomed two kids with Hermann Nicoli, whom she’d been with since the age of 17, before calling off their engagement
“I kind of feel married already,” she told Hello! Magazine, while explaining she wasn’t in a rush to get married. “Ten years is kind of a marriage, so I don’t really need papers to tell me that.”
They welcomed two children, Anacã and Ariel, before eventually breaking up.
Their split remained private, with Hermann last being featured on her Instagram in 2017.
Candice said during a 2019 Q&A with fans that she was single.
The third model featured in the viral video was Emily Ratajkowski, who made her VS runway debut at the age of 34 this year.
Emily and her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, reportedly finalized their divorce in 2025, in light of his alleged affairs.
“Yeah, he cheated. He’s a serial cheater. It’s gross. He’s a dog,” an insider was quoted as saying after their split.
Emily Ratajkowski said she didn’t have “the courage to leave” her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard
Emily said she was “really unhappy” in her marriage but didn’t have “the courage to leave” Sebastian for a long time.
The actress and Sebastian welcomed son Sylvester Apollo Bear before their split
“I was like 100 pounds, and I had just had a baby. I got really skinny because I was not okay,” she said on Dear Media’s Going Mental podcast earlier this year.
Behati Prinsloo, who was also featured in the viral video, said backstage at the show that her husband, Adam Levine, and their three children were watching her from home.
The couple tied the knot in 2014 and dealt with cheating allegations in 2022.
The scandal involved model Sumner Stroh publicly exposing messages that she allegedly exchanged with Adam.
Behati Prinsloo said her husband, Adam Levine, who was involved in a cheating affair, was watching her from home during the show
“Essentially, I was having an affair with a man who’s married to a Victoria’s Secret model,” Sumner said in 2022. “At the time, you know, I was young. I was naïve and, quite frankly, I feel exploited.”
The Maroon 5 frontman acknowledged the messages and said he “did not have an affair” but “crossed the line.”
After the Instagram clip went viral, netizens fixated on the affair scandals some of the models were involved in.
“The audacity of some men. I’ll never understand,” one said, while another wrote, “Proof that you could look like a VS model and men will still cheat.”
“Men will always cheat it’s a fact,” another said.
Barbara Palvin walked the ramp on a “half-healed foot,” her husband Dylan Sprouse said ahead of the show
Image credits: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
During the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, another model who pushed through the pain was Barbara Palvin.
The model said backstage that she had undergone surgery for symptoms of endometriosis back in June.
Barbara has spoken about how she’s had difficulties with her periods, in addition to experiencing fatigue, severe pain, and heavy and irregular flow.
She even had sleepless nights on the bathroom floor before undergoing surgery to alleviate her symptoms.
Image credits: dylansprouse
Her husband, Dylan Sprouse, also said during a pre-show interview that Barbara broke her foot about four weeks before the show.
When asked about what message he would send his wife, he said: “I love you, baby. Break a leg tonight. She actually did break her foot four weeks ago so she will be walking on a half-healed foot tonight,” he said. “So, I wish you luck. I love you.”
While the Angels this year had their own share of problems, modeling legends have proved for years that the limelight does not protect anyone from the struggles of everyday life.
Supermodel and icon Gisele Bündchen had candidly spoken about having panic attacks in the past and thoughts about ending her own life.
“I actually had the feeling of, ‘If I just jump off my balcony, this is going to end, and I never have to worry about this feeling of my world closing in,’” she told People.
Modeling icon Gisele Bündchen has spoken about how she thought about ending her own life in the past
Gisele and football star Tom Brady were a power couple for years before they finalized their divorce in 2022.
Model and actress Cara Delevingne has also been open about her struggles with sobriety.
She said the wake-up call for her was seeing paparazzi photos of herself seeming disheveled and distressed.
Cara Delevingne said she struggled with sobriety and enrolled herself in a 12-step program
“I hadn’t slept. I was not okay,” she told Vogue about the paparazzi photos in 2023.
“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,” she continued.
The realization helped her enter rehab and join a 12-step treatment program.
The community she met through the program “made a huge difference” in her life, she added.
Victoria’s Secret Angel Sara Sampaio has also previously spoken about her struggles with a hair-pulling disorder, known as trichotillomania.
Sara Sampaio candidly spoke about trichotillomania, a disorder that makes her pull out her own eyelashes, hair, and eyebrows
The condition involves the compulsive and irresistible urge to pull out one’s hair from the scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes.
Sara said she has been pulling her eyelashes and eyebrows out since the age of 15.
“The episodes are worse under a lot of stress or when I’m not doing anything, like watching TV or reading a book,” she said during a Q&A with her fans in 2018.
She urged people with the condition to consult their doctor and decide the best course of action.
“This is a disorder that people can’t just simply stop! But being understanding and kind goes a long way! Much love to everyone,” she told her fans.
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Sara also spoke about how her ADHD diagnosis helped her understand why certain things were harder for her.
She said she struggled with focusing on tasks and could only focus when the sense of urgency kicked in.
“My life finally makes sense,” she said after getting her diagnosis. “There’s nothing wrong with me. This is just how my brain works.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm, help is available: International Hotlines
“Basically they’re normal people, only rich,” one netizen commented online
