Gigi Hadid is reflecting on her first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 10 years ago.

On Friday, Oct. 10, the brand announced that Hadid, 30, would return to the iconic show in 2025 with a video shared to Instagram.

In the clip, the model recalls landing her Victoria’s Secret debut in 2015.

“I think I tried out two or three times before I got it, so you can imagine when I felt when I got my first show,” she says.

Hadid then becomes emotional, tears filling her eyes as she adds, “I’m just so happy for her. She just wanted it so bad… I look back at pictures of that time and the world was so hard on her, and not just me, is hard on girls.”

The model continues, “And then you look back at pictures and you’re like, ‘I was the shit.’ That was an awesome time. I deserved to be there. I continue to come back to this show just so happy for that girl that got the first show and then also my teenage self who just watched the show.”

Hadid also shared that the show “still makes my heart beat really fast.”

“I feel the responsibility of doing the best I can for the huge team that’s behind this show,” she explains.

In 2015, Hadid spoke out about the scrutiny over her body that she received around her fashion week appearances at the time and Victoria’s Secret debut.

In a text post shared to Instagram at the time, she wrote, “No, I don’t have the same body type as other models in shows. No, I don’t think I’m the best at any given shows. Yes, I want to have a unique walk but I also know I have to improve. No, I’m not the first or the last model of my type in this industry.”

She continued, “You can make up all the reasons you think I am where I am, but really, I’m a hard worker that’s confident in myself, one that came at a time where the fashion industry was ready for a change.”

Hadid added that while her body type “wasn’t accepted in high-fashion before,” but the industry can “never stay the same.”

“Yes, I have boobs, I have abs, I have a butt, I have thighs, but I’m not asking for special treatment,” Hadid continued. “I’m fitting into the sample sizes. Your mean comments don’t make me want to change my body, they don’t make me want to say no to designers that ask me to be in their shows, and they definitely don’t change the designers opinions of me. If they want me in their show, I’m in it; if they don’t, I’m not. That’s just how it is and how it will be.”

Hadid ended her message urging critics to “at least be open if not part of the change,” which is “undeniably happening.”

Following her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut in 2015, Hadid appeared in the 2016 show in Paris. The model missed the 2017 show but returned in 2018 alongside her sister, Bella.

Hadid strutted the runway for the show’s return in 2024, where she kicked things off by ascending from the floor before breaking out her signature strut.

The model wore a pink look featuring a belted, silky one-piece with short shorts and plunging neckline. Her cropped blonde hair was slicked back, and the ensemble accessorized with oversized diamond hoop earrings, gladiator-style heels and of course, a pink pair of wings.