Cara Delevingne says her journey to sobriety after viral photos has been worth ‘every second’

The model sparked concern last year after images of her at Van Nuys Airport emerged

Cara Delevingne has spoken out about her journey to sobriety, explaining that it has not been easy but she now feels “stable and calmer”.

The model checked into a rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol addiction in 2022, after paparazzi photographs of her appearing dishevelled and erratic at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles emerged in September that year.

In a new interview with ELLE UK, Delevingne, 30, said she feels like a weight was lifted after opening up about her struggles.

“For a long time, I felt like I was hiding a lot from people who looked up to me. I finally feel as though I can be free and myself, fully,” she said.

The Paper Towns star said that embracing sobriety has not been easy, but added that “there have never been moments where I’m like, ‘This isn’t worth it’.”

Reflecting on the journey, she continued: “It’s been worth every second. I just don’t know what it would take for me to give it up. I am stable. I’m calmer.

“Before, I didn’t trust myself. I second-guessed myself constantly. There was a lot of anxiety involved. Now I just feel free of that.”

Delevingne also spoke about her struggle with fame and how suddenly she became a recognisable face. She became known as the face of Burberry in 2011.

“It didn’t feel real,” she recalled. “I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t feel worthy. I was still stuck in this mindset of not being good enough.

“I was doing the best I could, but I wasn’t really appreciating every moment. Inside, I felt very different to how I looked.”

However, she praised her girlfriend, London musician Leah Mason, for helping her become more secure and self-confident.

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Speaking about Mason, whose stage name is Minke, Delevingne said: “My girlfriend has been really wonderful in introducing me to a lot of things and people.

“Being with my girlfriend, in this relationship, there are just so many things that came at once that have made me so happy and comfortable with who I am.”

She also has plenty of love for her close friends in the fashion industry, including models Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss, who Delevingne said taught her “a lot about living”.

Delevingne first opened up about getting sober in March. In an interview with US Vogue, she described the paparazzi photographs at the airport as a “source of overwhelming shame and embarrassment”.

At the time the pictures were taken, the model had just returned from the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, northwestern Nevada.

She told the magazine: “I hadn’t slept I was not OK… It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, ‘OK, 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.”

In June, Delevingne said she attended Glastonbury sober for the first time and said this year’s festival was “by far” her favourite.

She said she has been going to the major festival since she was 15, but going to the event while sober this year was “filled with tears, full belly laughs, long awaited reunions and so much love”.