Bella Hadid is happier than ever since stepping away from modelling because she is no longer putting on a "fake face".
The 27-year-old catwalk star put her career on the backburner after suffering mental and physical health issues, and she is now enjoying a laidback life in Texas with her boyfriend Adan Banuelos - and Bella admits she's thriving.
She told Allure magazine: "After 10 years of modeling, I realised I was putting so much energy and love and effort into something that, in the long run, wasn’t necessarily giving it back to me."
Since moving to Texas, Bella says she doesn't feel any pressure to go out if she doesn't feel up to it and it's made her much happier.
She added: "I never feel like I need to do too much ... For the first time now, I'm not putting on a fake face. If I don't feel good, I won't go. If I don't feel good, I take time for myself.
"And I've never had the opportunity to do that or say that before. Now when anybody sees me in pictures and they say, I look happy, I genuinely am. I am feeling better; my bad days now were my old good days."
Last year, Bella revealed she was "finally healthy" after more than a decade of health troubles. The model - who was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in 2012 - took to social media to reveal she was recovering after "almost 15 years of invisible suffering".
Alongside photos of her medical records and her various treatments, Bella - who is the daughter of Mohamed and Yolanda Hadid - wrote on Instagram: "The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself .
"Thankful to my mommy for keeping all of my medical records, sticking by me, never leaving my side, protecting, supporting, but most of all, believing me through all of this.
"Living in this state, worsening with time and work while trying to make myself, my family and the people who support me, proud, had taken a toll on me in ways I can’t really explain.
"To be that sad and sick with the most blessings/privilege/opportunity/love around me was quite possibly the most confusing thing ever. one thing I want to express to you all is that 1: I am okay and you do not have to worry, and 2: I wouldn’t change anything for the world.
"If I had to go through all of this again, to get here, to this exact moment I’m in right now, with all of you, finally healthy, I would do it all again. It made me who I am today. (sic)"
