Bella Hadid is doing her first-ever Dry January: ‘Just to know that I can do it’

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Bella Hadid is back to being a Victoria’s Secret model. She quit VS a few years ago when everybody was leaving, and the stories about the gross, sexist and abusive behavior of VS executives were coming out. VS has been through an extensive rebrand and hopefully it’s not just a superficial thing. I believe more women are in charge and the corporate strategy is less “sexy vixen angel size zero” and more “real women have different sizes and lingerie needs and we need to market ourselves accordingly.” So Bella is back with a VS campaign and here we are. She’s promoting the brand, which is why she chatted with E! News about VS, her New Year’s Eve, and how she’s doing Dry January.

How she spent NYE: “I cooked dinner at home in my pajamas. I had no FOMO. I felt completely fine within that, and that’s how I realized my growth, to be honest, is being able to know that when New Year’s comes around and I don’t need to be out drinking and I don’t need to be doing these things because I finally feel ok on the inside.”

Doing her first dry January. “Regardless of anything, it’s showing myself I have that inner willpower, you know what I mean? Just to know that I can do it.”

Her non-alcoholic beverage company Kin Euphorics: “What Kin does is it really calms your nervous system. So that ritual that we all have—that 5:00 happy hour ritual that’s been been pushed and ironed into all of our brains—is not something that I think we necessarily need.”

Returning to VS: “Another way that I realized my growth—which was super important for me—was being able to be in a setting that I once felt unempowered, and to now feel so empowered and so reassured. I don’t know if people understand that just as much as you would feel that it’s uncomfortable to be in your underwear shooting a commercial, it is that uncomfortable. So the thing about Victoria’s Secret for me now is that they really, really care about us.” Plus, gone are the days of asking “‘Well, what’s the vision of what a woman is supposed to be?’ from a man’s perspective,” Bella added.

[From E! News]

I’ve been “dry” for years, but I’m always interested in hearing from people who do those “dry January” challenges. I have no idea if Bella is even that much of a drinker! I wonder how many people do Dry January and then just decide to stay dry for much longer. As for her NYE activities… my guess is that she was probably more worried about going out in a pandemic as opposed to feeling super-comfortable in her own skin. We should all just… stay in. More often.

As for the Victoria’s Secret stuff… it is what it is. I think it’s suspicious that VS did a big rollout of their new “normal, real women” ambassadors (like Megan Rapinoe and Naomi Osaka) and then they rehired Bella Hadid to actually model the lingerie.

Photos courtesy of Bella’s Instagram.

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26 Responses to “Bella Hadid is doing her first-ever Dry January: ‘Just to know that I can do it’”

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  1. Hillbo Baggins says:

    I love dry January. I tend to over indulge in food and drink from Thanksgiving through New Years so I do dry January to swing back into healthy habits and knock off the weight gain. I’m feeling great.

  2. Normades says:

    It’d come off a lot more sincere if she wasn’t shilling her own drink.
    Doing a dry January for the 3rd year in a row. It is really my reset as I know full well that I drink to much every other month of the year. I might make this one permanent though. My body feels so much better, especially my perimenopause symptoms.

  3. Silver Charm says:

    If you look at the campaign amd website irs more of the same: catering to the male idea of what is sexy. Men are still their target audience.

  4. Léna says:

    Also doing my first Dry January. Just because I wanted a “challenge”. I’m also going to do a No Meat February (though we don’t eat meat a lot) so I can challenge my cooking skills more. I wanted to do a No Cheese March but my boyfriend just laughed at my face, fair enough haha (we’re both French so, it’s kind of in our soul).

  5. Wiglet Watcher says:

    Last time I gave up alcohol as a group/set amount of time thing my friends and others went overboard with the peer pressure. It’s easier to do it for yourself and not spread the word. And alcohol is loaded with calories/sugars. I have no doubt she abstains often and feeds her body with intent.

  6. SpankyB says:

    My schedule was so hectic around the holiday’s that my Dry January started after Thanksgiving. I was getting home late and going straight to bed, no time for wine. I’ve never done Dry January but decided to this year since I had a head start. I may continue it to Dry 2022. Wine is a habit for me, not an addiction, so it was nice breaking the schedule that created the habit. My skin is already improving.

  7. BeanieBean says:

    Her first dry January? How old is she? How long has she been drinking? How can it be so difficult for her? As for the red undies/stockings/bra with all the white straps…sure, that’s something developed by women for women. Sure.

    • Silver Charm says:

      She’s only 25 but did get a DUI when she was 17 so shes been drinking a while.

    • Veronika says:

      She dated The Weeknd off & on for years and they partied hard with a variety of substances. She’s been running with a crowd like that for a long time 🍺 💊 🍷 🚬

  8. Desdemona says:

    What’s a dry January? Not drinking alcoholic beverages? If so I’m life-span dry!! 😀

    • terra says:

      This. I didn’t purchase alcohol until I was twenty-two and even then, it was red wine to use in pasta sauce. I’ve never had more than two drinks at any given time and can count the two-drink days with my fingers and I’m well into my thirties.

      I come from a very hard-drinking family, so having grown up around it all I’ve just never been too interested. I’d honestly rather have tea 99% of the time.

  9. RN says:

    I’m not much of a drinker overall but I never drink at all in November and December. January is my favorite month to drink because it’s so depressing. The weather is terrible, we’re stuck inside because of the pandemic… so while everyone else is white knuckling it, I’m merrily popping open some bubbly to gently lift my mood, haha.

  10. Cee says:

    I stopped drinking around July of last year and had 2 glasses of my favourite wine for Christmas Eve and didn’t make it past midnight (we open presents and toast Christmas at 12 am). I was never a big drinker in the first place but 6 months of no alcohol and I passed out in the living room (working 8 am to 6 pm didn’t help!)

  11. C-Shell says:

    My sister and I are (virtually) doing our first Dry January together. We spent the holidays together, and ate and drank far too much because we were maintaining a pandemic bubble and had little else to occupy our time. We are terrible enablers to each other, so we made this pact. Both of us feel great! I have no cravings whatsoever, but agree with Hadid that the ritual is the hardest thing to break. So, I’m trying out some zero proof “vodka” and “gin” so I can indulge in my dirty martini habit without consequences. I don’t know if I’ll make it longer term/permanent yet, but I know I was abusing myself with too much alcohol. That can’t continue.

  12. Sandra says:

    January 11 marked 90 days sober for me. It was really hard at first and now I’m barely bothered if anyone drinks in front of me. At first, I would pound a seltzer to try and forget about being bummed that I quit drinking and now it’s just my go to drink that I enjoy. Herbal tea at bedtime to relax. Counseling once a week. I’m glad to be sober and will keep working at it.
    Note: I was a really heavy drinker and needed to do this. Not trying to be preachy to those who can enjoy a glass of wine and then go about their evening. I didn’t have that self control.

  13. Jules says:

    Still don’t get this desire for 20-somethings to look like 45 year old divorced Real Housewives.

  14. Becks1 says:

    We are doing a semi-Whole 30 (we’re going away this weekend so we’re pausing it for that and then bringing it back when we get home lol) and I am feeling so much better, so is my husband.

    During the pandemic my drinking increased so starting in August, I made a conscious effort to track what I was drinking and to cut back (i.e. no more boxes of wine, I was constantly just “topping off” with those but that really adds up) and to stop with the random weekend drinking – no mimosas just because its Sunday, etc. I started just tracking and generally cutting back, and kept cutting back a little more until by mid-September I think I had stopped drinking during the week completely (no more nightly glasses of wine, drinking water at restaurants, etc). And by doing that deliberately I was also naturally cutting back on the weekends, some Friday nights I wouldn’t drink at all, some Saturdays I would just have one glass of wine, etc.

    So with all that said, the whole 30 (and the no drinking) hasn’t been as big a change for me as it sometimes is, but it’s still been good. I have realized that I do not eat enough veggies lol.

    One of my issues is that I love drinking – like, actual drinking, not alcohol, I just am always drinking something – it used to be coffee in the AMs, water during the day, and then wine at night, so now its just tons of water and then herbal tea at night which….is getting boring lol. I have seltzers but they are cold and its cold here and I’m whining about it lol because I feel like there’s only so much herbal tea one can drink during a day.

    Anyway, the big difference is that it’s changed our social habits. We have several friends in our neighborhood but hanging out with them always involves drinking. And I don’t mean they’re doing something and there’s alcohol. I mean they sit around and play drinking games and the like. So if you’re not drinking…..then there are other things I would rather do, you know? We started changing that over the summer, because I just reached a point where it wasn’t fun anymore. but now we need to find a new social circle, lol. One where there is some drinking (bc we are still drinking overall), but its not the main focus of what we do together, or the only thing we do together.

  15. phlyfiremama says:

    My relationship status with alcohol: it’s complicated. 🤣 I have a history of addictive parents and binge drinking myself, but these days I don’t drink much at all. Sometimes my Husband & I will split a bottle of wine at dinner, but I have NEVER been a “day drinker” except on special outings like brunch or meeting with friends for an occasion. I monitor it very carefully to keep it in check.

  16. whatever says:

    Reminds me of Irish comedian Ed Byrne’s bit about occasionally going dry “just to prove that he could” which was followed by “turns out that’s one of the signs of being an alcoholic.”

  17. AMA1977 says:

    My husband is doing Dry January, so I’m doing it with him to be supportive (I can take or leave alcohol, but a couple of drinks a week is my usual norm. I joked that my Achille’s heel would be “No Refined Sugar January”, lol.) We’re also making healthier food choices together, and the “together” aspect really makes it easier IMO. I’m using MFP to track my calories and exercise because I do have a goal of shedding a couple of dress sizes, but I am also consciously incorporating more veggies/fruits and less processed foods. So far, so good! I’ve noticed that his anxiety and mood are significantly improved since he’s not drinking alcohol, and I’m proud of him for making the effort to be healthier overall.

  18. washappy21 says:

    I feel sorry for her if she has to use her inner will power to not drink for a month. During a time when heavy drinking often seems to never have been more popular, I do applaud her but I’m also sad for her.
    I’m having a dry january too but I don’t need willpower for it, I just don’t want to drink.
    I usually don’t read anything about her because honestly I can’t stand her. The “I’m a model” vibe from her is irritating seeing as she wouldn’t be a model if it weren’t for the fact that she had ALL the plastic surgery in order to be a model and it wasn’t what she got because of her family.

  19. E says:

    Ah yes what a normal thing for a us real women to do: lounge outside in red lingerie entwined in ivy. Definitely such a dramatic shift from focusing on the male fantasy *rolls eyes.

  20. jferber says:

    Maybe she drinks alcohol instead of eating? I’ve heard vodka (or gin) has few calories. I’ve always wondered how models don’t eat and what they do instead. I’ve heard of cocaine and brown rice, of course, but I’d like to know what they really do. I actually don’t believe they really exercise, no matter what they say.

  21. jenny says:

    Isnt she a bit young to already be making a deal about beibg sober for a month? Seems to me like she’s got problems already, at that stage of your life it should just be a shrug wether you drink or not imo.

  22. Sarah says:

    I have done dry January for a few years. My husband quit drinking three years ago (he’s an alcoholic) so I quit for 3 months to be supportive. I am not a big drinker and usually just have a couple of drinks per week. Over the holidays though, I usually have one or two drinks per day so I find dry January a good reset to get back to my normal healthier habits.

    Becks1, your comment about the boxed wine is funny. My husband often suggests that I buy that since it lasts forever and I’m the only one who drinks it but I never do because I feel like it’s too easy to top yourself up all the time.