Fun & Famous
a second VICTORIA’S SECRET MODEL tells all
“There is so much pressure on us”
I usually look at Victoria’s Secret Angels like they come from an entirely different planet. Aliens perhaps, who sooner or later are going to have offspring and magically reappear super slim on the runway a mere ten weeks after giving birth. Women with perfectly built physiques and a rare DNA, who work out until the early hours of the morning with a big fat smile on their face to get rid of all those extra pregnancy kilo’s – while they upload photos onto their Instagram accounts letting us know ‘how much fun it is’ to #TrainLikeAnAngel.
Seriously though, I feel like there is a lack of ‘humanity’ (for lack of a better word) when it comes to these models. And that is why I would like to bow down to Alessandra Ambrosio because during an interview with The Cut, she was refreshingly honest. Instead of the regular and standard model answer “I just really like working out,” followed by the expected “But I eat fries every now and then too”, Alessandra says it like it is.
“I was on this 1200-calorie-a-day meal delivery service that I hated”
“After having Anja I only had three months to lose all the weight [before doing the 2008 Victoria’s Secret show] and I was on this 1200-calorie-a-day meal-delivery service that I hated. I couldn’t do that again.”
The fact that the VS show is the most popular lingerie show on the planet, that in the US alone has 6,6 million viewers, adds a lot of extra pressure according to Alessandra. “There’s so much pressure on us all – not just in terms of shape – and the energy gets sucked out of you, so my favorite thing to do afterwards is dance all night long. Yes, we’ll have a pizza party and drink, but I don’t even care that much about the food. It’s about being young, normal and carefree again.”
“My last two Victoria’s Secret shows, I was told I had to lose weight.”
Now I have to say it is very remarkable that a Victoria’s Secret model is being so public about her strict regime. I mean, why would you want to foul your own nest? This openhearted interview with Alessandra is extra striking since it was released just a week after her ex-colleague Erin Heatherton opened up about her experience and the pressure of being a Victoria’s Secret model in The Times. And I quote: “My last two Victoria’s Secret shows, I was told I had to lose weight. I was really depressed because I was working so hard and I felt like my body was resisting me. I got to a point where one night I got home from a workout, and I remember staring at my food and thinking: “Maybe I should just not eat.” Followed by: “I realized I couldn’t go out into the world — parading my body and myself in front of all these women who look up to me — and tell them that this is easy and simple and everyone can do this”.
Hold up, wait a minute. Have these models, the ones that used to be so unattainable with their wings, finally showed us that they too are purely made up of flesh, blood, feelings and difficulties? I look forward to more of this kind of honesty. And in the meantime, I am still completely convinced that life is a lot more fun when you aren’t a fit-girl.
