Tragic Details About Hailey Bieber

This article contains references to addiction and mental health issues.

To an outsider, it would appear that Hailey Bieber, née Baldwin, has a perfect life. The Tucson, Arizona native is a beautiful and successful fashion model with a major beauty business. Legacy-wise, she was also born into a Hollywood dynasty, consisting of her famous dad, Stephen Baldwin, as well as uncles Alec, Daniel, and William Baldwin.

Then there's her husband, pop icon Justin Bieber. The "Yummy" heartthrob has been open about how much he loves and adores his wife of over three years, even when some of his fans don't like to hear it. While Hailey runs with a cool celebrity crowd that includes besties Kendall Jenner and Gigi and Bella Hadid, she still holds her own among her supermodel friends. On top of a flourishing modeling career, she boasts over 40 million followers on Instagram, as of this writing.

While it's clear she lives the good life, there are some tragic details about Hailey which suggest things may not be as they seem. In fact, the former ballet dancer's life has been far from perfect and she's had to overcome many obstacles within her family, her relationship, and even within herself. Fans may be aware that her relationship with Justin hasn't always been easy, but others may be surprised to learn that Hailey struggles with her own issues as well. She's been through a lot to get to where she is today, and these are the stories as to why.

In March 2022, Hailey Bieber suffered a medical crisis resulting in emergency hospitalization. TMZ reported that the model was being treated for a brain condition suspected to be COVID-related. Bieber herself later cleared up what happened on Instagram Stories, telling fans, via Today, "I was sitting at breakfast with my husband when I started having stroke-like symptoms and was taken to the hospital." She continued, "They found I had suffered a very small blood clot to my brain, which caused a small lack of oxygen, but my body had passed it on its own."

Although Bieber said she "recovered completely" and was "home now and doing well," she made it clear to fans that the ordeal was "definitely one of the scariest moments" of her life. Bieber had every right to be scared. According to the American Stroke Association, strokes are the fifth "cause of death and a leading cause of disability" in the U.S.

Several studies have also shown that people who've had COVID-19 have an increased risk of stroke. A month before his wife's hospitalization, Justin Bieber had tested positive for COVID. However, it's unclear whether Hailey did also. Understandably, Justin reportedly didn't handle his wife's health scare well, with an unnamed source telling People that he "is probably more traumatized than even she is." The source claimed, "He was saying that he can't lose her, that whatever it takes, he wanted the best medical treatment available."

Hailey Bieber's relationship with Justin Bieber had a fairly rocky start. Rumors of their romance first spread in 2014, but it took until two years later for the two to come clean about it. Hailey told E! News that she was dating the singer, but that they weren't "an exclusive couple." Meanwhile, Justin dished to GQ that he was hesitant to make their relationship official. "What if Hailey ends up being the girl I'm gonna marry, right?" he explained. "If I damage her, then it's always gonna be damaged."

Worse still, Justin got back together with ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez just a year later. An unnamed source told People, "Justin is happy Selena is single. He hopes to regain her trust." That had to be a blow to Hailey. Especially since, as the outlet speculated, Justin reportedly pursued Gomez and made it seem like he was just biding his time with his future wife.

Hailey acknowledged that she and Justin "weren't cool with each other" and "didn't speak" during this time when the couple appeared on "In Good Faith with Chelsea & Judah Smith." She also accepted her share of the blame for their respective relationship struggles, saying that she once "did something very immature and stupid" that made him question their relationship. She admitted on the podcast, "I did something that really hurt him." Apparently, she and Justin both brought their share of drama to the relationship.

Hailey Bieber's relationship with Justin Bieber has attracted some shady behavior from some of his "fans" over the years. The model has allegedly been trolled by stans of his former relationship with ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. Even in 2020, years after Justin and Gomez's 2018 breakup, a social media user encouraged the bullying of Hailey on her Instagram Live, saying, via People, "We need to f***ing bombard that s*** with Jelena and how Selena is better."

Tired of the attacks on his wife, Justin vented on Instagram Stories about the incident, and said, "It is extremely hard to choose the high road when I see people like this try and rally to gather people to bully the person I love most." Sadly, the bullying didn't stop there. In 2021, Hailey was taunted by fans chanting "Selena" while she walked the red carpet at the Met Gala, per Page Six.

Though she assured the Evening Standard that she's rising above the issue by "not feeding into [the 'trolls']," they may still affect her. During a conversation with Dr. Jess Clemons, Hailey admitted that the bullying made her feel "delusional" and compelled to compare herself to others. She explained, "It starts to mess with your mind and then you start to question everything." Eventually, Hailey sought therapy, sharing in the video, "It had got to a point where they'd [the bullies] gotten way too crazy for me, and I was really anxious."

Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may be in love, but their first year of marriage was so hard that she wasn't sure if they would last. In an episode of "In Good Faith With Chelsea & Judah," Justin admitted to having struggled with his mental health during the start of their marriage. He explained, "There was some serious healing I needed to go through in order to get to a place where I could be in a healthy, serious relationship because I had a lot of trauma and scars."

For Hailey, supporting her new husband "was really hard" but worthwhile. She told the podcast that she'd often call her mother in tears, even telling her one time, "I just can't do it. There's no way that I'm going to be able to do this if it's going to be like this forever." However, on top of having faith that he'd pull through and get healthy, she also knew that now wasn't "the time to give up on him." 

Justin likewise admitted to GQ, "The first year of marriage was really tough." Explaining that there was a "lack of trust" between the two due to his own trauma, he suggested he had a fear of being frank with his new wife about his experiences. Still, the hard work appeared to have paid off. During his interview with the outlet, the singer credited Hailey for his current stable and happy home life.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Hailey Bieber has always been open about how important her Christian faith is to her. However, during a conversation with Yvonne Orji, she pointed out, "Sometimes it can be difficult to be in this industry, believing what we believe in." It probably doesn't help that Bieber hasn't always felt supported by those who share her religion. Opening up to Orji about her experiences, she explained, "I've met Christian people that are just super judgmental and made me feel like I'm a bad person because I don't live my life the way they think I should." 

Bieber admitted how these attitudes have even affected her work as a model since she's "felt weird about posting certain photos ... or feeling like, 'People in the church are gonna see this.'" Speaking to WSJ, the model also recalled that there were "people in the church" who left her feeling "very outcast" because of her then-breakup with Justin Bieber. She griped to the outlet, "When did church become a social club? That was such a bad feeling."

Bieber is a member of the controversial Hillsong Church, which has caught criticism for its policies regarding LGBTQ+ people and has remained in the news for various alleged scandals. In 2020, one such scandal saw Bieber and her husband distancing themselves from former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz after he was fired from the church amid allegations of infidelity against his wife.

Despite Hailey Bieber's success as a model, it appears the Arizona native originally had another profession in mind. According to Elle, Bieber is a classically trained ballerina who would spend her summer breaks from school in New York, where she attended the American Ballet Theatre school. While a foot injury is reportedly what ended Bieber's dancing career, she told Vogue that she felt it was simply more practical to pursue modeling instead. She explained, "As a dancer, I got hurt a lot, and I didn't know if I was going to be good enough to make it into the company when I was done." 

Initially, modeling wasn't much easier, with Bieber admitting to the outlet that her "burn in the modeling industry has been slow" compared to that of her friends Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Bella Hadid. She dished, "I'm not a runway girl and I totally used to feel inferior to some of my friends." Similar to when she was pursuing ballet, it seemed her future felt uncertain since she claimed, "There was a part of me that didn't know if I could have the career I wanted."

Of course, Bieber's career is now thriving, but she remains sentimental about her time as a dancer. On Instagram, she posted an old video of herself performing with the caption, "Miss it!" 

Justin Bieber's addiction issues were especially hard on Hailey Bieber because she was so impacted by the drug use of others growing up. The "Sorry" singer recalled to Vogue, "Drugs put a screen between me and what I was doing. It got pretty dark." While Hailey wanted to be there for Justin during his struggle, she admitted it was hard for her because her father, actor Stephen Baldwin, had also been an addict. She explained on the "Victoria's Secret Voices" podcast, "Looking back on times of drug use and being in some dark spaces and having to kind of go back there was extremely difficult."

Speaking on the podcast, Hailey also admitted that she was always put off by drugs because of her dad's "really big issue with cocaine," and subsequently avoided substance abuse. "I'm just so scared that if I tried it one time it might lead into something else," she explained. Though difficult, she was at least well prepared for the challenges she was to face. On the podcast, she added that having a dad who was "always extremely open about why being sober worked for him ... and what alcoholic behavior looks like" subsequently gave her awareness of how to help her husband.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

During Justin Bieber's struggles with addiction and depression, Hailey Bieber appeared to have remained strong for her husband. However, the model has also faced mental health issues of her own. On Instagram in 2019, she opened up about her struggles and vulnerability. "I'm insecure, I'm fragile, I'm hurting, I have fears, I have doubts, I have anxiety," she wrote, in part. "Every single day is a confidence battle." 

It appears she's done with pretending that her life is perfect. In an interview with Glamour, Hailey reflected, "People would ask me, 'How are you?' and I'd be like, 'I'm fine; I'm good.' But really I'd be crying in my hotel room all night." Now, she'd rather be honest, pointing out, "The more we are open about it, the more we can help people find solutions."

Hailey discovered solutions for dealing with her anxiety, telling the outlet she found relief "through self-help meditation and therapy." She also credits the book "Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation" for being a huge help, dishing to W Magazine, "It was all about having different visualizations and breathing techniques to help with mental state, depression, and anxiety." While Hailey chooses to "work on [her] mental state naturally" through homeopathic means, she stressed the importance of getting whatever help you need. "When your emotional and mental health is off, you're not going to feel like your best," she explained. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Hailey Bieber may be a celebrity but she's still a human who sometimes has bad days. Unfortunately for her, those bad days can ruin a reputation, especially if those moments go viral. Sadly, that's exactly what happened to Bieber in 2020, when former restaurant hostess Julia Carolan took to TikTok, per E!, to slam the model's alleged bad manners. "I've met [Bieber] a handful of times and every time she was not nice," the former hostess stated. "I have to give her like a 3.5 out of 10." 

The post ended up getting over 13 million views, and apparently, Bieber was one of them. The model commented on the video, "wanted to say so sorry if I've ever given you bad vibes or a bad attitude." She even offered to apologize in person, someday. During a conversation with Dr. Jess Clemons, Bieber revealed the video left her "so upset." She explained that while there's "never an excuse for being rude," she was able to identify particularly difficult periods in her life when "engaging with people felt hard" for the model. She added, "You never know what someone's going through."

That level of compassion is something that Bieber seems keen for people to learn for themselves. Speaking to Evening Standard, she suggested, "I wish people were more open to the idea of letting [others] learn, grow, make mistakes and move on." Despite what Bieber's been through, she continues to be open about what she's overcome.