Supermodel Linda Evangelista doesn't have any interest in dating any more, and she just made it very clear why. In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the 58-year-old shared why she hasn't pursued a romantic relationship since undergoing a CoolSculpting procedure, which she claims left her "permanently deformed." Despite the timeline lining up, the results of the procedure are not why she's opting out of the dating scene, Evangelista says.
RELATED: Cher's "Demanding" Libido Is "Wearing Out" 37-Year-Old Boyfriend, Source Says.
The star told The Sunday Times (via People) why she is "not interested" in dating again: "I don’t want to sleep with anybody anymore. I don’t want to hear somebody breathing." Evangelista added that the last time she dated was "definitely before the CoolSculpting." According to People, she underwent CoolSculpting treatments in 2015 and 2016.
In September 2021, Evangelista posted on Instagram that the reason she hadn't been seen publicly for years was because CoolSculpting "increased not decreased, [her] fat cells and left [her] permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries." The supermodel said that the fat-reducing treatment caused Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia (PAH), which she claimed she wasn't warned about. CoolSculpting lists PAH as a possible side effect on its official site. Evangelista filed a lawsuit against the company, which she announced was settled in July 2022.
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images
Evangelista has since made more public appearances and participated in the Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models, which premiered in September. In the Sunday Times interview, she reflected on how her unsuccessful CoolSculpting treatments affected her mentally.
"I know now that I didn't do anything wrong. For the longest time I thought I did. I'm not completely rid of it, but I work hard at getting rid of the guilt and the shame. And I'm not letting it ruin my life. I wouldn't have stayed locked up if I'd known how many people cared," she said (via E! News). But, she added that she doesn't "look in the mirror" anymore. "My son will say to me sometimes, 'You might want to know that you have a pimple on your chin.' And I'm like, what? But life is better without mirrors," the model said.
In the same interview, Evangelista spoke about her past relationships, including her marriage to Elite Model Management executive Gérald Marie from 1987 to 1993. She accused him of being abusive in The Super Models, which his lawyer denied in a statement to People. She told The Sunday Times that she was "afraid" to tell anyone about the alleged abuse at the time. In The Super Models, the model said that she decided to come forward after over a dozen other women accused Marie of rape and assault. Marie has denied all the allegations.
Evangelista also commented on her time with Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault, with whom she has a 17-year-old son, Augustin James Evangelista. She said that her relationship with him has been "worked out" in the time since she made headlines for suing him for child support in 2011. Pinault is now married to actor Salma Hayek. In 2021, Hayek posted a photo of herself and Augustin on Instagram while she and Pinault were on vacation. Evangelista responded by posting two black heart emoji.
The supermodel was engaged for a time to Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan during their six-year relationship in the '90s. After they broke up in 1998, Evangelista said, according to People, "We’ll always remain friends, and our families are still close I still see Kyle regularly—as well as our two dogs. The bond will always be there."
For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
