Jamaican-British supermodel Naomi Campbell has had a very successful career spanning decades. But the 51-year-old supermodel said that success came at a price as she had to sacrifice finding a soulmate.
Campbell made those comments when she was asked about what she had probably “traded” for her career in a recently published interview with The Cut. “I’d say the sacrifice is really finding that soul mate who will understand you,” she said. “It’s really like you feel if they look at you as if you’re strong … you know, I’m strong, but I’m also sensitive. I know that in relationships I have to compromise.”
Campbell has had a number of highly publicized relationships though none of them ended in marriage. The supermodel and U2 bassist Adam Clayton got engaged in 1993 before they called it quits. She was also later engaged to Italian businessman Flavio Briatore but they broke up in 2002 after a four-year relationship, Vanity Fair reported.
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“I don’t have a problem looking at myself in the mirror anymore and facing and owning who I am,” she said in reference to her past. “And for sure when I was younger, I wasn’t always using it in the right way. It takes growth.”
Despite not finding her soulmate, Campbell said she established meaningful friendships along the way. “I’ve had extremely long friendships that are still very present in my life to this day — 30, 33, 35 years on. I’m grateful for those people in my life. They know me better than anyone,” she said. Campbell also singled out her mother for praise.
“I’m grateful for my mother and our closeness and her understanding.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Campbell also praised Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles for their courage to publicly come out and declare they needed a break from the spotlight. “I know that it must have been so hard for these young ladies to actually just finally be able to come out and say it: ‘Enough.’ God knows there are people in the past who have suffered and not been able to come out,” Campbell said.
“Everyone just expects them to be perfect and be on every single time. I just have total praise and respect, and I’m in awe that they had the courage to do the right thing, to take care of themselves.”
