When opening up about her experience working with the lingerie company, the 29-year-old Australian model reveals she was encouraged to use cocaine in order to lose weight by her former agency.
- Jul 8, 2021
AceShowbiz - Bridget Malcolm has gotten candid about her unpleasant experience while working with Victoria's Secret. The model, who quit the company even before becoming an Angel, claimed that she was "groomed" and "sexually assaulted" behind the runway.
The 29-year-old beauty made the revelation in a video she shared on Instagram. "By the age of 18, I'd lived in three countries alone, I'd traveled to all continents except for Antarctica, I'd been groomed by a much older man, I'd been sexually assaulted multiple times, I'd been told to do cocaine to lose weight by my agent," she first spilled.
"I was told weekly... I'd been under a lot of pressure to lose weight by my agencies," she further explained. "I developed PTSD. I had been told to just have lots of sex to lose weight. I was struggling with my gender identity. I developed anorexia... and anxiety and depression."
Bridget added, "I couldn't socialize without drinking. I was developing quite the reliance on Xanax and Ambien in order to get me through the night. And that was before I turned 18." Once she turned 18, she said it "didn't get better."
"Eight years later on my 26th birthday I had a nervous breakdown and I couldn't leave my house for a year without panic attacks and severe anxiety," the Australian native went on. "I also had a bout with suicidal ideation which was terrifying. That was four years ago."
On the reason why it took years for her to finally speak up, Bridget elaborated, "I am two-plus years sober. I'm four years in recovery from an eating disorder. I'm happy. I'm balanced. I'm strong and I feel the best I've ever felt." She continued, "The reality is, I couldn't talk about my experiences before I reached this place... I am in solid recovery and I'm strong enough for any backlash, and I wasn't before this."
"The only reason why I'm doing this is because I am a strong believer that the fashion industry needs to change," she concluded in her clip. "I'm one of the lucky models. I was able to make a long career out of the fashion industry. But my job should not include abuse."
Just days prior to that, Bridget called out Victoria's Secret and accused the company of "performative allyship" after it announced it would replace Angels with more diverse brand ambassadors.
Bridget also described the experience of modeling in the 2016 annual show. "I found my bra from the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - it is a size 30A," she stated in a TikTok video. "I am now a size 34B, which is healthy for me."
