How Willow Smith Encouraged Bella Hadid To Share Her Truth Online

For a young person in the public eye, Bella Hadid has been opening up to the world quite a bit. Earlier this year, she told Vogue how she has grown into herself since her start in the modeling industry when she was just 17. Hadid told the magazine she felt "enormous pressure" to give off the image of "a sexbot who goes out every night," which she noted is not her real-life persona. "I have extreme social anxiety!" she exclaimed. "Partying is not my thing, but ... I assumed that's all people wanted from me."

In a video for Vogue, Hadid further elaborated on her alter ego, even giving her a name. "That's Belinda," she said of her public persona. "I'm just so opposite of her. She's very va-va-voom." Hadid also revealed the reason behind her signature stone-cold expression. "People used to make fun of me and say that I never smiled," she said. "It was just because I was in a really bad place physically and mentally."

Now, Hadid has revealed how Willow Smith — another young star — has helped her on her journey to inner peace.

In a lengthy Instagram post on November 9, Bella Hadid shared some very candid photos of herself in tears and some words of wisdom via video from Willow Smith. "People forget that everyone is basically feeling the same way: lost, confused, not really sure why they're here," Smith says in the attached video. "That anxiety, like, everyone is feeling that and trying to cover it up in some way." 

Smith's words resonated with Hadid, claiming they, as Hadid wrote in her caption, "made [her] feel a little less alone." Hadid also wrote that this existential anxiety "is pretty much [her] everyday, every night for a few years now." Despite nearly always exuding a public image of perfection, Hadid stressed that what you see online is not reality. "Social media is not real," she continued. "For anyone struggling, please remember that." She added, "there is always light at the end of the tunnel."

"I've had enough breakdowns and burnouts to know this," she concluded. "If you work hard enough on yourself ... you will always be able to understand ... your own pain and how to handle it. Which is all that you can ask of yourself." What a powerful post involving two powerful young stars.