Emily Ratajkowski has opened up on the reasons for her divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard in a heartbreaking new interview.
The model, 32, married the film producer in February 2018 in a courthouse in New York after having dated for just two weeks.
They welcomed their son, Sylvester, in March 2021, but split in July 2022 after allegations Sebastian had cheated on her.
Emily has now shared a heartbreaking account of why she ended up filing for divorce, after finding that her marriage had slowly changed her.
Speaking to author Sarah Manguso for Vogue, Emily revealed that while she'd initially viewed marriage as a "romantic thing" that would "ultimately be a partnership", she found the reality to be very different after she gave birth to their son.
She revealed: "I never cooked, and suddenly I was not just cooking, but also being the breadwinner, while simultaneously organizing our social schedule and being the primary caretaker of our child."
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Emily admitted that she never wanted to marry "someone who needed me to feel small", adding: "And yet, by the end of my marriage … my world was suddenly extremely small and less important, less valuable."
Explaining how things ended up changing, she revealed: "It was a slow devolution from 'Oh, we’re partners, and this person respects all that I’m doing', to feeling like a possession."
She also admitted that she is "still reeling" from having to "really watch" how she behaved and "control my responses" during divorce proceedings where she sought sole custody of Sylvester, due to women often being unfairly labelled "crazy" for having emotional responses.
She added: "Making people question their reality is a fundamental pillar of abuse, physical or emotional. We don’t spend enough time talking about that.
"Betrayal trauma absolutely falls under that umbrella, because you think you have one reality and someone has gone to great lengths to assure you that you exist in this reality and that you’re ultimately safe, and then you discover that you are not."
Emily also admitted that she felt like she "can't trust anyone", explaining: "There is a lot of talk about men, cheaters, lying. It is a terrifying thought, if you’re a hetero woman, because you feel like you can’t trust anyone.
"You might not be able to control other people or what’s going on culturally with heterosexual relationships or how men are raised and how they think of women, but you can change the way you think about marriage and what you’re owed and what life is for.
"That was something that definitely came to me out of my divorce. I have this new appreciation of time, and every second feels like a gift."
She also admitted that the "Disney fairytale" she once wanted of "being chosen and building a life while being desirable to one man and keeping a man" has since changed, and isn;t something she finds "interesting anymore", adding: "It’s opened so much space up in my life in so many incredible ways."
It comes after Emily revealed earlier in the year that she'd had her former engagement ring remodeled into a pair of "divorce rings" by the jeweler Alison Chemla.
She said at the time: "It was a fun project to work on together amidst a hugely transitional period in my life. The ring became symbolic to me – some kind of token or evidence of my life becoming my own again.
"It’s been a crazy couple of years, and finally I feel a sense of peace within myself and about the life and future I have and will continue to build with my son."
Emily added: "Somehow, these rings feel like a reminder that I can make myself happy in ways I never imagined."
