Supermodel Bella Hadid dominated the pages of Pop Magazine’s Fall 2021 issue #45, photographed by three different photographers. Carlijn Jacobs [IG] delivers three Bella covers and a sensual Hadid, styled by Emilie Kareh, as the horsewoman that she is in real life. Bella is so proficient as an equestrian that she was headed for the Olympics in 2016 before pulling out due to recurrent bouts with Lyme disease.

Timed with Pop Magazine’s editorial but not related to it, Bella Hadid has been speaking at length this week about her mental health and that of millions of people.

In a lengthy Instagram post Tuesday, Bella shared at least nine tearful selfies and quoted her friend, singer and "Red Table Talk" cohost Willow Smith [IG] and also Red Table Talk [IG].

In the video on the first slide, Smith’s words resonate. "'That feeling of thinking that you're not good enough or being insecure about your art- is natural- but at the same time, I feel like it's taught. . . All humans are different, every single human has something so special and unique to offer.' Smith continues: “And people forget that everyone is basically feeling the same way: lost, confused, not really sure why they’re here. That anxiety, like, everyone is feeling that- - and trying to cover it up in some way. We’re gonna come together in our flaws. In our insecurities, in our joy, in our happiness, and accept it all as beautiful and natural.”

"This is pretty much my everyday, every night For a few years now," Hadid wrote in response to Smith's quote in the caption. "Social media is not real. For anyone struggling, please remember that."

The seeming severity of Bella’s state of mind is a bit surprising, given her steady and stable, self-described compatible and nourishing relationship with art director Marc Kalman. Yes, sister Gigi’s life has been in upheaval with all the family drama and her split with partner Zayn Malik, but like the Kardashians — those women hang tight together. And Bella adores her niece beyond words. Her career seems stable.

People with Lyme disease often suffer from anxiety and depression — and not only the more well-known symptoms of pain disorder. Persistent pain itself — and it can be severe with Lyme disease — can trigger depression and emotional rollercoaster moments.

Tongue-wagging fashionistas in our industry have been positively vile towards the Hadid sisters at times, and there’s no changing that reality. Hiding behind screen names seems to bring out the worst in people.

All AOC can say is that Bella rarely has an outwardly visible bad day in her life, and if it moves her towards humanity to share the reality that she is not always as she appears, that’s good for Bella and the larger community of her fans and followers.

Knowing that people are living vicariously through her images, the need for Bella to remind people — that her life of images is not real — resonates. Also, it’s important to read the totality of Willow Smith’s comments as well as Bella’s. These bits and pieces littering the Internet do not do justice to Smith’s generally positive, loving and connected-to-humans-commentary with five words from this sentence and four from another.

Willow and Bella are practicing ubuntu, the African philosophy that says “I Am Because We Are” or “I am Because of You”.

Unfortunately techno world has totally coopted this exquisite word — and I RESENT it. From the mouth of Nelson Mandela to Linux — what a fall. So we will just have to reclaim ‘ubuntu’ as such an important word, that it must belong to humanity.. ~ Anne