When supermodel Adriana Lima announced in 2018 that she was retiring from Victoria's
Secret, fans were shocked. While she appeared to leave on good terms, many suspected something
else was going on behind the scenes. Here's why Lima really hung up her wings for good.
"Every minute that I worked with Victoria's Secret, it was the greatest time of my life."
Lima's departure from Victoria's Secret was made even more surprising by the fact that
she had previously said she wouldn't stop until she had walked in at least 20 shows.
A then-36-year-old Lima told People in 2017,
"I plan to be at 20 [shows]. Two more years. Maybe more, I don't know. It's nature. I'm
working out, I'm being healthy, so let's see how the body is going to turn out. But I enjoy
it. So let's say 20."
"Every year that I do the Fashion Show, I am living a dream."
Lima revealed that she loved hitting the runway, saying it made her actually feel, quote, "like
an angel." She added,
"I feel very emotional to be part of it, in a good way. After so many years and to have
a chance to see Victoria's Secret go and have their fashion show internationally, it's really
an honor for me to be part of it."
In spite of the good vibes, Lima walked away just a year later — looking as fit as ever
— and leading to speculation about her true motives.
"I think there's always a day that you have to say goodbye."
While Lima may have known that her time as an Angel was over, her departure was bittersweet.
She wrote on Instagram ahead of her final Fashion Show,
"Dear Victoria, thank you for showing me the world, sharing your secrets, and most importantly
not just giving me wings but teaching me to fly."
"They made my dream become a reality…I'm gonna break down."
Lima also thanked her fans for supporting her over 19 years with the company. At the
show, she burst into tears on the runway, during an emotional farewell. In an interview
with The Daily Front Row, Lima revealed that she had planned her exit a year before, saying,
"I was emotional all year about it, because I hold the brand in my heart. […] I loved
walking the runway. It was always the highlight of my life."
A year before Lima announced she was hanging up her wings, rumors were already swirling
about her possible plan to leave the brand, thanks to a cryptic Instagram message she
posted in December 2017. Explaining that she had turned down a request to film a racy video
for social media, she wrote,
"Even though I have done many of [these types of things], something had changed in me."
"Yes, you are Adriana Lima. I'm a Angel, I'm a Angel, I'm a Angel."
Lima explained that she had begun to question the pressures put on women of all sizes, adding,
"A friend approached me to share that she was unhappy with her body. […] In that moment
I realized that [the] majority of women probably wake up every morning trying to fit a stereotype
that society/social media/fashion […] imposed."
Claiming that she felt she needed to live by example, Lima vowed to never bare it all
for a, quote, "empty cause."
While Lima has always expressed her public support for the Victoria's Secret brand, after
her Instagram post, Glamour reported that fans began to suspect that Lima was looking
to retire her wings when she unfollowed Victoria's Secret senior creative exec, Ed Razek, as
well as several of her fellow Angels.
So, did beef between Lima and the other models have something to do with her leaving the
brand? Or were there perhaps creative differences between the model and the company's top brass?
If there were any hint of bad blood between Lima and her fellow angels, she's certainly
keeping her lips sealed. She told People in 2019,
"I still see the girls all of the time at shoots or events. I was just with [Josephine
Skriver] the other day for a Maybelline campaign. It's a little family. Once you're an Angel,
you're always an Angel."
"I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't empowered. This is Victoria's Secret."
Over the years, Victoria's Secret has taken a lot of heat for its lack of diversity. A
stylist who worked with the brand told the New York Post in 2018,
"There's a body type and a size type that they believe in. It's big t---, tiny waist,
tall skinny legs. If they don't have the body that [Ed Razek] deems the perfect woman's
body, they will not be in the show."
"You know what, we're sick of seeing the same body type. You have to be body-inclusive now,
every woman needs to be represented."
While other former Victoria's Secret models have spoken out, Lima has not been openly
critical of the company herself. Still, it's possible that one of the reasons she distanced
herself is because she sides with the brand's critics. Since leaving, Lima has been very
outspoken about her desire for more inclusivity in the fashion industry as a whole, telling
People in 2019,
"My hope is that the industry sends a message of representation. I want any young girl or
boy to be able to open up a magazine or website or Instagram […] and feel represented in
a beautiful and positive way."
In 2017, Lima's close friend and fellow Angel, Alessandra Ambrosio, departed from the company,
leading some to think that her retirement may have inspired Lima to do the same. But
Ambrosio's reasons were more clear-cut than Lima's. At the time, Ambrosio told Entertainment
Tonight that she wanted to focus on her fashion line, Ále by Alessandra, and build up her
acting career.
"Victoria's Secret's my family, but you know, it's time to move on."
But in 2015, a couple years before Ambrosio retired, another Angel quit her wings. In
2019, Karlie Kloss finally revealed why she made the jump, telling Vogue,
"The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria's Secret was I didn't feel it was
an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send
to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful."
It looks like Lima may have been following in the footsteps of other high-profile Angels,
who were more than ready to forge a new path.
While Lima was vague about her post-Victoria's Secret plans, there was one thing she wanted
to commit herself wholeheartedly to doing. Before her final Victoria's Secret Fashion
Show, she told People,
"I'm looking forward to [supporting] women and being connected to different projects
which support women around the world. I am still happy that I am part of Victoria's Secret
this year."
But Lima's interest in advocating for women isn't new. She wrote on Instagram in 2017,
"We, 'as [women],' should not continue living in a world that has such superficial moral
values. […] I want to change it, [in] the name of my grandma, my mother, and all her
ancestors that have been labeled, pressured, [and misunderstood]."
"A strong female is someone who…"
"Don't let anyone put her down."
Even though she's no longer strutting down the runway attached to oversized angel wings,
Lima plans to keep modeling for as long as she can. She now has the time to focus on
other projects, which might be one of the reasons that she quit Victoria's Secret. In
2019, she even received the Daily Front Row Fashion Icon of the Year Award, telling Entertainment
Tonight,
"After 20 years of career I never thought that I would be standing here today. I'm really
grateful for […] everyone — photographers, Victoria's Secret, all the companies, everyone
that believes […] in me as a model. And created space and opportunities for me to
become who I am today."
"I've been modeling for 20 years and honestly I never thought that I would receive any award
in my life."
During her acceptance speech, she famously claimed, quote, "It isn't over yet." And ever
since, Lima has continued to land plenty of work for all sorts of outlets. According to
People, she starred in a 2019 commercial for Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, as well
as covering Vogue Arabia and Vogue Spain.
Fans have wondered why Lima would walk away from one of the most iconic lingerie brands
in the world, if she wasn't planning on completely retiring from modeling. After all, Victoria's
Secret is a global icon — and becoming an Angel is an achievement most models would
love to claim.
"Adriana Lima is so incredibly hot."
Lima said that she worked especially hard for Victoria's Secret — under an extraordinary
amount of pressure to look flawless. In 2011, she told The Telegraph that for nine days
before the iconic Fashion Show she would cut out solids, only drinking protein shakes.
And twelve hours before the show, she cut out liquids, too.
"Don't ask me how many cups of coffee I have a day. Five to ten…Promise you. Five to
ten."
While Lima is still mindful about what she eats, she no longer puts herself through that
rigorous diet routine. In 2019, she told Elle that she now makes healthy food choices, even
traveling with a cooler filled with pre-made meals from nutritionists. But the goal now
is healthy, not skinny. She told the outlet,
"I plan to live a long time."
From the looks of it, Lima seems to have been pretty selective in who she's partnered with
since leaving Victoria's Secret. She told Vogue Arabia in 2019,
"I believe in the brands I work with and hope that my audience realizes that I'm authentic."
"I'm a woman, I'm a mom, I'm a business person and I love to go to the gym."
One brand that matched her current status was Puma. In November 2019, Lima announced
the launch of her activewear line on Instagram, and explained to Hollywood Life,
"We were thinking about the design and the cut that would give the perfect muscle support
when you wear it. Besides quality, it has to be fashionable. I need to feel [beautiful]
in it."
Lima was also the face of BCBG MAX AZRIA's Fall 2019 campaign. She explained to People,
"I love that BCBG is a brand that really thinks about a woman's lifestyle. […] You will
always find something […] you want in your closet to feel good in and I like that."
Another reason that Lima may have stepped out of the pink spotlight is so that she can
focus on her two daughters. She told People,
"When I announced that I would no longer be with Victoria's Secret, I think everyone thought
I was going to a different planet. I have been working a lot and am continuing to work
on new projects and taking care of my two beautiful daughters. Life is just as busy
as it has always been and I love it that way."
Lima told Us Weekly that her girls are already taking after their model mama. She said,
"My daughters are definitely girly girls. Sometimes when I'm working in Miami, they
come out to watch me get my hair and makeup done and then I find them in my room later
going through my makeup. I've definitely come home to find little makeup fingerprints around
my bathroom!"
"There is a lot of positive messages in fashion and in beauty and those messages are the ones
that I will embrace."
Lima certainly nurtures the close relationship she has with her girls. She told Vogue Arabia
that her kids always make her laugh, and added,
"They amaze me. […] Children say anything that comes to mind, whether we like it or
not."
While Lima hasn't specifically stated that she hung up her wings in order to pursue an
acting career, it appears that it's a definite possibility. Lima already has several acting
roles under her belt, including guest appearances on Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother as
well as a cameo in Ocean's Eight.
"I'm here and ready to go! [Claps] Where are my Tico berries?"
Lima told Page Six in 2016,
"I'm just waiting for someone to see me. I'm like, 'Hello, I'm here.' My dream role is
with Quentin Tarantino, fingers crossed. I haven't had a chance to tell him that directly."
It looks like Lima may have had that chance in 2019 when she was spotted at the Hollywood
premiere of Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She told Scenester,
"I'm living a dream right now."
"I think women now, above 30s, they become more and more beautiful."
Perhaps the most important thing that Lima has accomplished since leaving Victoria's
Secret is proving that models can have long, successful careers. As part of an unapologetically
ageist industry, Lima is defying outdated standards of beauty. When The Daily Front
Row asked how long she planned to model, Lima said in 2019,
"I'm 37 and I want to show the world that a powerful woman can be beautiful as a mature
woman and as a mom. I use fashion as a tool to inspire women to take care of themselves.
Age is not important."
Lima also aims to dispel stereotypes within the industry, explaining to Refinery29,
"I want to shatter the perception that I'm just a pretty face. I want to be remembered
for more than that. I want people to remember that I worked hard, I was kind, and I was
a good businesswoman."
"I wanna look back and say…"
"I'm proud of you. Because you did everything and you never give up."
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