Content Advisory: This article discusses addiction and suicidal thoughts. Reader discretion is advised.
Cara Delevingne is opening up about a frightening chapter she says nearly cost her everything.
Four years into sobriety, the ‘Paper Towns’ actress and model spoke candidly about addiction, isolation and the moment that pushed her to change course. During a June 3 appearance on ‘Call Her Daddy,’ Delevingne described how her early drug use began as a search for connection.
“When I first started using drugs, I was searching for connection,” Delevingne said. “I felt like I’d found myself.”
Cara Delevingne Says Substance Use Started Young
Delevingne said the early days felt tied to fun, dancing and a version of herself she thought she liked.
“I loved the fun, the dancing,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is someone I really like. This is cool.'”
The 33-year-old also admitted she began buying drugs to use and sell when she was young. She made clear, though, that she mostly used them herself.
“I wasn’t exactly a kingpin,” she said.
Still, she knew the situation had turned darker when she started using alone. That was when the escape became more dangerous.
“I knew it was bad when I started using alone and realized how much I enjoyed it,” Delevingne said. “I felt free from judgment, able to disappear into myself.”
Fame Made The Spiral Easier To Hide
Delevingne, who became one of fashion’s biggest names in the early 2010s, said her career helped cover the damage for a long time.
“At work, it wasn’t an issue because I was productive and making money,” she said.
She admitted she often showed up in rough shape, but still got through the job. In her 20s, she said, that made things easier to excuse.
“I’d be in rough shape, definitely more messed up than others, but you can get away with a lot in your 20s,” she said.
Then came the pressure of success. Delevingne said her darkest thoughts returned at the height of her career, when outsiders might have assumed she had everything.
“Suicidal thoughts resurfaced when I was at my career peak,” she said. “When I should’ve been on top of the world, I felt utterly undeserving and guilty. I came dangerously close to ending it all.”
Music Helped Spark A Turning Point
Delevingne said loved ones tried to help, but one private moment in a hotel room became a wake-up call. A song started playing on shuffle. It was a song connected to a friend’s funeral after an overdose.
“Music became my lifeline,” she said. “It’s surreal how quickly your perspective can shift when you’re on the brink.”
That moment, she said, forced her to look at what was happening.
“I had this moment of clarity: ‘What am I doing? Why? How did I get here?'” Delevingne recalled. “I flushed all the drugs right then and there.”
She also credited her girlfriend, musician Minke, whose real name is Leah Mason, with helping her feel safe. The two knew each other from school before reconnecting.
“When we reconnected, I felt an immediate sense of safety,” Delevingne said. “That feeling terrified me more than love ever had because it made me realize how dire my situation was.”
Delevingne said she was honest with Mason from the start. “I told her, ‘I’m struggling with addiction,'” she said.
Now, four years sober, Delevingne is telling the story plainly. No gloss. No easy celebrity spin. Just a hard look at survival, recovery and the moment she chose to stay.
