Giles Hattersley is one of the best interviewers worldwide. Hands down. On his IG, Hattersley describes himself as an Executive Editor at British Vogue + Global Network Lead. Vogue calls him the features director of British Vogue.

I’ve read the Bella Hadid interview four times, and the man is a supremely-gifted journalist, quick-witted, and a saint of a human empath.

Hattersley describes Bella as “One of the kindest, truest, most complex, pure-hearted souls one could ever wish to spend time with. To say nothing of being THE model of the decade. An honour to interview brilliant Bella for June.”

In her British Vogue cover interview and fashion shoot, Bella is styled by IB Kamara in chain-mail from Etro and Balmain and embellished tulle from Dolce & Gabbana. Her silk crepe cover dress is Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. High jewelry comes from Chopard — for whom Bella is a global ambassador. Earrings and super bangles are from Alexis Bittar.

Clearly, Bella Hadid and photographer Steven Meisel [IG] have excellent chemistry. / Makeup by Pat McGrath; hair by Guido

British Vogue’s IG descriptor of Bella also resonates. Bella Hadid “gives a riveting glimpse into her complex inner self.”

It’s an indisputable fact that a peculiarity of constitution or temperament surrounds the process of interviewing Bella Hadid. She is an idiosyncratic human being, which is not a negative comment.

Hadid is memorable in an awesome sort of way. TikTok has ruined the word ‘awesome’, just as AI has ruined ‘captivating’, which I would also use because it’s true when Bella is in the room.

In a Hollywood glamour way, Hadid is also ravishing. Watching some of her recent videos before writing, Bella is turning up the volume on the ravishing part.

The super femme stresses that her health remains majorly challenged some days, due to Lyme disease. I thought she was vastly improved after that major blood transfusion process, but not so.

“I think nobody really understands chronic illness. Everything feels…” She pauses again. “It’s hard to take a shower most days, which I promise guys,” she adds, smiling wanly as she leans into my recorder, “if you’re reading this, I shower every day. But sometimes, if I have one day off, if I can get in the shower and make myself breakfast, I see that as an accomplishment. Our interview today was at 3pm. I was in excruciating pain until 11am and had a very tough morning.” She exhales. “Can you make this all sound a little bit prettier and less dramatic?”

Getting out her journal — made for her by boyfriend Adan Banuelos, a horseman of international repute, and a real Texas cowboy no less — Bella explains that it is nearly full of her notes.

“If you have questions you want to ask, do – and then, most likely because of my ADHD brain, we will be going into so many different directions. I am going to be talking for hours,” she says. Hattersley notes that Bella is “smiling theatrically, laughing-yet-serious”.

Bella is very proud of her cowboy, who is the youngest Mexican cowboy to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bella clarifies: “He works for his family, he works for his customers and he works to hopefully build a home and a family one day.”

They share a dream of having a summer camp for children.

Then — like a meteor shower — Bella blasts off in a different direction, talking about shooting for Victoria’s Secret with her period. Next Hadid boomeranged into territory that really caused me to gasp.

In that moment, Bella Hadid sounds self-consumed as a rich woman, one reeking of privilege. She also scared me, frankly, given our current political environment. Bella said:

You’re shooting Victoria’s Secret on your period, with endo. That should be illegal. I’m going to talk to the White House about it, because we should literally ban women working on the week of their period. And the week before, to be honest.

It’s correct for me to say that Bella confirms what many Republicans argue: Women should not be flying airplanes; women shouldn’t be in the military; women shouldn’t be judges because we are hormonal, irrational creatures.

Women should be mothers and home-schoolers under the jurisdiction of their husbands. Just like in the good old days.

Could someone in Bella’s orbit please be sure that she does not go to the White House, to share her views on women only working two weeks each month, because of our out-of-control hormones due to menstruation.

Her views are not amusing, given all that’s going down in our country right now.

It’s also an outrageously stupid idea for millions of women and families who do not have the option of cutting their paychecks in half when they are probably working two jobs — as do their husbands or life partners — or even worse, when they are the sole breadwinner.

When Republicans ban women from working at all — since only working two weeks a month is not a realistic option on every front — they will be thanking Bella Hadid. Good God!

Next, Bella explains how Belinda is the girl at work until she gets home, and can be Bella again. Belinda has existed for a very long time. “She slays. She can be crying from 5am to 7am but by the time she gets to work, a smile’s on her face and she’s going to do her job and get through it.”

I really respected Giles Hattersley when he gently asked Bella: How’s your relationship with the mirror now? “I hate the bitch,” she whispers softly. You hate that bitch? “Well…”

Her life can be complicated, though. “My throat chakra feels closed,” she tells me of never being quite able to voice all of her thoughts. Oh, that elusive balance. “For me, going through severe depression and Lyme and anxiety and work, and then going home and not having a lot of time to recap, then horse showing, it’s just a lot altogether.” She takes a moment. “I saw something the other day and it made me cry, because I cry for everything. I was scrolling and it was this girl and she’s like: ‘I’m 30 years old and I just don’t know what my path is supposed to be. I don’t know what the universe or God’s biggest plan is for me.’
“I think that’s where I struggle, being able to understand where I belong. Because when it comes to my philanthropy, to Palestine, to my horses, to work, and then my family and my friends, all of these are separated in multiple different countries. To be my singular self, I don’t know how to be in all of those places. I know it means I need to find love within. I know it means I need to be at home within myself, but I’m such a people person.” A final, knowing, somewhat sad, certainly amused, smile plays upon her lips. “I’m such a people pleaser.”

I’m very unsettled by this interview, which I’ve sat on for four days, with extreme concern for this wonderful humanist, uber-talented, beautiful woman named Bella Hadid.

It took me back decades to the loss of a very close friend who was a manic-depressive. I tried my best to save her from herself, as did her family. We failed. ~ Anne