Sibling rivalry alert! Tired of living in Gigi’s shadow, younger sister Bella Hadid wants the spotlight for herself
The Hadid siblings are feuding as Bella ‘steals Gigi’s thunder’
Last week, Bella Hadid was spotted leaving Victoria’s Secret’s New York offices, confirming fashion’s worstkept secret – the model, 20, is now a Victoria’s Secret Angel and she’ll appear on the catwalk in Paris this year, alongside her older sister Gigi, 21.
But friends of the model sisters tell heat that Gigi is “beyond annoyed ” and the job has ignited a feud between the girls – one that’s been bubbling under for months.
“Gigi feels like Bella’s trying to steal her thunder,” says a close family friend of the Hadids. “If there was one thing Gigi felt she had that Bella would never achieve, it was her status as a Victoria’s Secret model. And now that’s gone.
“Bella never, ever talked about wanting to do Victoria’s Secret until Gigi did it, and Gigi had dreamed of it her entire life. As a kid, she used to practise her walk in swimsuits and tell her friends she’d be an Angel one day.
“Bella just wanted to ride horses, but she saw how famous it made Gigi, so decided she could do it, too.”
The friend adds that Bella and Gigi, who are also up against each other for Model Of The Year at the British Fashion Awards this year, have had a long-running rivalry that their mum Yolanda Hadid, star of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, has always been keen to keep hidden. “Bella always thought she was a model’s model, whereas she thinks Gigi is just a social media queen. “They fight loads, and Bella always says that, while Gigi might be more famous, she’s more authentic. Gigi, meanwhile, calls Bella ‘plastic’. It’s all part of being sisters, and ultimately they want each other to succeed, but it definitely causes tension.”
Gigi was the first of the sisters to sign to an agency, IMG Models, in 2013. One year later, Bella ditched her plans to become an Olympic showjumper and signed to the same agency. Gigi landed a Vogue cover first – the Spanish edition in March 2015 – with Bella landing Turkish Vogue a year later. They’ve been competing ever since.
Our insider adds that Bella, who’s been dating Abel Tesfaye
(aka The Weeknd) for 18 months, evenaccusedgigiof “copying her” by getting a pop-star boyfriend when she hooked up with Zayn Malik this year.
Just one day after the news about Bella’s new job broke, Gigi said on Instagram, “There is no feeling in the world like walking down this runway. I’m elated to say I’ll be returning to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show this year, the show that has been one of my greatest motivators since I was a teenage fan of the Angels. It will forever be an honour.” She didn’t mention – or congratulate – sister Bella.
“This year’s Victoria’s Secret show is going to be cold as ice backstage,” says our insider.