Cara Delevingne Says She Felt Like an 'Undercover Lesbian' When She Walked in Her First Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Michelle LeeWed, June 3, 2026 at 8:11 PM UTC

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Cara Delevingne walking the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2012Credit: Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/Getty -

Cara Delevingne opened up about her debut in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show while appearing on Call Her Daddy

The model detailed how she felt like an "undercover lesbian" as she explored her sexuality around the same time she walked the famous event in 2012

Delevingne also talked about an innocent encounter she had with Candice Swanepoel that had an impact on her sexuality

Cara Delevingne's debut in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show came at a confusing point in her life.

The model and actress, 33, appeared on the Wednesday, June 3 episode of Call Her Daddy where she reflected on her first time walking the famous runway event in 2012 when she hadn't publicly revealed her sexuality.

Delevingne said that she never leaned into feminine styles growing up and that she "didn't like being a girl," because to her, it meant having different opportunities. But at the height of her modeling career, and especially during the show, she said she became a girl that she "wasn't."

Cara Delevingne making her debut in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2012Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty

She admitted that walking in a skin-baring outfit — like the miniskirt and stilettos she wore for her Victoria's Secret show debut — was "fun" and "felt like [playing] dress-up" but there was also "something darker about it" because she hadn't fully explored her sexual orientation.

"I was in the closet. I was gay and also [thinking], 'Am I the only lesbian that's ever done Victoria's Secret,' " she said. "I was having a great time, but also very confused. I felt like I was an undercover lesbian."

The Tell It Like a Woman actress then shared a story about an innocent interaction she had with a fellow model that made her feel like she "fainted."

"I remember seeing Candice Swanepoel... we were in a hotel room eating pizza. She came in the bathroom and took off her clothes. Not in a sexual way, but that was what models do and I passed out," she shared. "I was standing up and I had to fall back on the toilet. It was a lot. The gay panic. I was constantly panicking."

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Delevingne also walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2013, and she was invited back to walk in 2016, but declined the offer.

In 2020, the model said she is pansexual while speaking to Variety. "I always will remain, I think, pansexual," she told the outlet. "However one defines themselves, whether it's 'they' or 'he' or 'she,' I fall in love with the person — and that's that. I'm attracted to the person."

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Cara Delevingne in the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion ShowCredit: Randy Brooke/WireImage

The Suicide Squad star added that she "never thought I needed to come out," explaining, "It was just kind of like, 'This is who I am. Just so you know.' "

More recently, she opened up about being a lesbian while appearing onstage during Rosalía's show in London in May. In a following May 29 interview with Variety, Delevingne said how "proud" she is about her sexuality. "At this point in my life, I'm very happy to say that I'm a lesbian."

Currently, the star is dating singer-songwriterLeah Mason who is also known as Mink. The two met in boarding school and reconnected 12 years later. On their relationship, she told Variety, "I always have hated labels, but I don't see myself being with anyone else for the rest of my life and I want to have a family with this woman so yes, I'm a very proud lesbian."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”