Cara Delevingne has spoken at length about receiving help for substance abuse and her mental health struggles.
The model and actress sparked concern last September when photos in which she appeared to be behaving erratically emerged on various websites - images which it now turns out were a watershed in checking into rehab.
Speaking to Vogue as their April cover star, Cara, 30, admitted that she has had interventions previously but wasn't ready, which was the problem.
'I hadn’t slept,' she said of last year's paparazzi photos. 'I was not okay. It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, "Okay, I don’t look well."'
The runway star acknowledged that a 'reality check' is sometimes required, calling the pictures, 'something to be grateful for'.
Her wellbeing quickly became a cause for concern for worried friends and family, who rallied around her in the aftermath of the distressing photos going public.
Cara recalled, 'From September, I just needed support. I needed to start reaching out. And my old friends I’ve known since I was 13, they all came over and we started crying. They looked at me and said, "You deserve a chance to have joy."'
Therapy has been crucial for the London-born star, as it helped her realise that her previous 'quick fix' healing just wasn't substantial in getting to the 'nitty gritty deeper stuff'. She has since committed to following the 12-step programme [a spiritual foundation for personal recovery from the effects of alcoholism].
She has been the first to admit that the process will have its ups and downs, recognising that it will be a long-haul commitment and won't simply be a case of, 'Oh look, I was an addict, and now I’m sober and that’s it.'
Elsewhere in the wide-ranging and bravely candid chat, Cara reflected on how lockdown saw her fall into a deep depression.
She started quarantining with Ashley Benson in Los Angeles, her then-girlfriend of almost two years, but their split in April 2020 prompted a 'low point' for Cara.
The Paper Towns actress - who is now dating musician Minke (Leah Mason) - explained, 'I just had a complete existential crisis. All my sense of belonging, all my validation—my identity, everything—was so wrapped up in work. And when that was gone, I felt like I had no purpose. I just wasn’t worth anything without work, and that was scary.
'I got very wrapped up in misery, wallowing, and partying. It was a really sad time.'
In October 2015, Cara opened up about her battle with depression during the Women in the World summit and revealed she had felt suicidal as a teenager.
She said, 'I really wanted to do well at school to please my parents, to please my family. I didn’t really care that much about school because I knew I was never going to be very good at it. I think I pushed myself so far, I got to the point where I had a bit of a mental breakdown.
'I got to the point where I was a bit mad. I was completely suicidal - didn’t want to live anymore. I thought that I was completely alone. I also realised how lucky I was and what a wonderful family, wonderful friends I had, but that didn’t matter. I wanted the world to swallow me up, and nothing seemed better to me than death.'
Cara has also been upfront about her childhood, when her mother battled heroin addiction and poor mental health.
'It shapes the childhood of every kid whose parent has an addiction,' she previously told Vogue.
'You grow up too quickly because you’re parenting your parents. My mother’s an amazingly strong person with a huge heart, and I adore her. But it’s not something you get better from, I don’t think.'
Since her latest interview with Vogue has gone live, Cara has received support in abundance.
'Good for her!!! Lots of love and respect!' one fan wrote.
'This is so great!' another enthused. 'Very cool that she’s being an advocate for sobriety!'
If you have been affected by anything in this article, call Drinkline [for alcohol abuse] on 0300 123 1110, Frank [for drug abuse] on 0300 123 6600 or The Samaritans on 116 123.