Bella Hadid
Model Bella Hadid presents a creation during the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, November 30, 2016. Reuters/Charles Platiau

Bella Hadid is getting candid about her decision to give up drinking six months ago.

The 25-year-old model told InStyle in a new interview that it became "a lot harder to pick up the glass" after her doctor showed her the effects of alcohol on her brain.

"I have done my fair share of drinking," said Hadid. "I loved alcohol and it got to the point where even I started to, you know, cancel nights out that I felt like I wouldn't be able to control myself."

Last year, Hadid became co-founder and partner of alcohol-free, botanical-infused seltzer brand Kin Euphorics, which she said helped with her anxiety, the brain fog from her Lyme disease and the burnout from constant work and travel. The seltzer also claims to enhance focus and creativity.

According to the model, she no longer feels the need to drink alcohol because rather than helping, she's aware of the "pain and stress" it will bring.

As a result, Hadid has swapped her evening glass of wine with Kin Euphorics' Lightwave because of its calming, stress-relieving effects. It also helped her cut out drinking while enjoying the same benefits alcohol offers. She said she drinks it when she hangs out with friends and doesn't have to worry about a hangover the following day.

"I drink this when I have crippling anxiety and I can't leave my house or when I'm not gonna drink alcohol but still want to loosen up and be able to speak to people and socialize," she told the publication. "It doesn't put you slap on your butt, asleep for 15 hours, but it does really calm your brain, your nervous system, and those late-night thoughts. I drink it before bed and I sleep like a baby."

She continued, "It's kind of that moment where I have my ritual, where I'm able to just kind of be with myself. I don't take sleeping pills anymore. When I was flying so much, that was kind of the only way I would be able to not be jet-lagged. But now I really have something holistic and it's doing something for my body every day."

Last week, Hadid opened up about her "excruciating and debilitating" mental health struggles in a new interview with WSJ. Magazine for the publication's "My Monday Morning" series.

She discussed the thought process behind an Instagram post she shared in November 2021, where she posted a series of selfies of herself crying. In the caption, she had written: "This is my pretty much every day, every night. For a few years now."

Hadid told WSJ. Magazine that she would have "depressive episodes," and when her mom or doctor would ask her how she was feeling, she would respond by sending them a photo of her current state, including crying selfies. She explained that it was easier than having to respond in text.

"It was the easiest thing for me to do at the time because I was never able to explain how I was feeling," she shared. "I would just be in excruciating and debilitating mental and physical pain, and I didn't know why. That was over the past three years."

Hadid said she ultimately decided to post the pictures on social media to let those who may be going through the same experience know that "it was OK to feel that way."

Hadid was previously arrested and charged with a DUI in 2014, People reported. She was given six months of probation, 25 hours of community service and 20 hours of Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, in addition to having her license suspended for a year.

Bella Hadid

Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan