Gisele Bündchen said she suffered from panic attacks and had suicidal thoughts during the height of her modeling career.
The Brazilian supermodel, 43, revisited the experience on CBS' "Sunday Morning," saying she felt "suffocated" at times.
"I was in tunnels; I couldn't breathe. And then, I started being in studios, and I felt, like, suffocated," she said, according to USA Today.
Bündchen, 43, recalled a time when she was overwhelmed with anxiety.
"I lived on the ninth floor, and I had to go up the stairs because I was afraid I would be stuck on the elevator, and I'd be hyperventilating ... because, you know, when you can't breathe even when the windows are open, you feel like, I don't want to live like this," she said.
Asked by CBS host Lee Cowan if she ever thought about jumping from her floor, Bündchen said yes.
"Yeah. For a second, because you're like, I can't (do this)," she said.
Bündchen divided her personality as a way of coping with the pressure. She started seeing herself as "her," the persona that modeling agencies hired," and "Gisele," her real self.
"They weren't hiring Gisele; they didn't even know me," she said. "They just liked the way I looked, and they liked the way my body looked in clothes … and now, I get to be me."
Bündchen added: "I just think now I'm allowing myself to come out as Gisele versus as 'her.' I don't have to play a character. I can be me. And that's liberating."
Bündchen previously shared her experiences with contemplating suicide and battling anxiety in her 2018 memoir titled "Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life."
"Things can be looking perfect on the outside, but you have no idea what's really going on," she told People in an interview at the time. "I felt like maybe it was time to share some of my vulnerabilities and it made me realize, everything I've lived through, I would never change because I think I am who I am because of those experiences."
Bündchen was married to former NFL star Tom Brady from 2009 to 2022.
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call or text the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any time day or night. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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