EXCLUSIVE: Cara Delevingne's Near-Death Drugs Horror — How Supermodel Almost Died As She Battled Liquid Ecstasy Addiction
Cara Delevingne opened up about the dark moment.
July 11 2026, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Cara Delevingne came close to dying from a drug overdose during her struggle with addiction and has described the life-threatening ordeal that finally forced her to confront years of substance abuse and begin the long road to recovery.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the model, actress, and musician, 33, opened up about the darkest period of her life during a podcast appearance, explaining how dependence on GBL, commonly known as liquid ecstasy, spiraled into a near-fatal overdose after she tried to get sober.
Cara Delevingne Reveals Near Fatal Overdose
Delevingne opened up about her addiction during a podcast.
Delevingne said her almost-fatal drugs incident came after she had begun losing modeling work and was overwhelmed by the emotional consequences of confronting her addiction.
She was revived by paramedics with naloxone after unknowingly taking cocaine she believes had been contaminated with opioids.
A source noted: "Cara has never hidden how difficult recovery has been, but speaking so openly about almost losing her life shows how determined she is to remove the stigma around addiction. She knows her experience could encourage others to seek help before reaching a crisis point."
Delevingne recalled: "It went super quiet. Everyone went very silent. And I knew I needed to get sober, so I medically was weaned off GBL, which probably is the hardest one to come off.
"But I couldn't do it at home. I couldn't deal because the more sober I got, the more I realised how badly I f----- up, and that just was too much."
She added, "So, I couldn't stay sober, and then I overdosed because I think there were opiates in the cocaine I think I'd bought or something.
"I was narcaned (given a dose of naloxone, which reverses the impacts of opioid overdose), was in hospital, and that's really when everything happened because when I woke up.... (It was) the ambulance people. It's heavy. I was being held down by men to a thing, and I didn't know what was happening. It was horrible.
"My girlfriend (had) called the police. The ambulance, police, whatever. Horrible for her."
Hospital Horror After Overdose: 'That Makes Me Wanna Cry'
The model woke up inside a hospital after an overdose.
Delevingne said waking up in hospital left her overwhelmed by guilt rather than relief.
She explained: "Immediately. I was like, 'I can't.'
"What you've just put people you love through, and you see the pain in their face. The shame. Oh, that makes me want to cry, and it's horrible. It's hard to forgive yourself for that. That was one of the most painful things that's happened to me, so doing that to someone else is really rough."
Another source added: "For Cara, recovery wasn't just about stopping drugs. It meant confronting everything she had been trying to escape, and that's often the hardest part of getting well."
Burning Man Crisis Exposed
Photos of Delevingne after Burning Man 2022 following a seizure sparked concern.
Delevingne's interview also revisited the widely circulated photographs taken after the 2022 Burning Man festival, which sparked concern over the model's appearance.
She revealed the images, which showed her looking shaken and disheveled, were taken shortly after she had suffered a drug-induced seizure.
Delevingne admitted: "(I was) mentally unwell for sure, not lack of sleep. I'd just had a seizure. I was not sober, for sure.
"I was taking a lot of drugs, there was a certain amount of time we had to leave, and I always overpack for Burning Man. I was just carrying loads of suitcases, and my body just couldn't take it, and I had a seizure. Which again, never seen myself have a seizure, but I've had a bunch."
"Drug-induced. Yeah, either lack of drugs or too many drugs," Delevingne said.
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Delevingne began a long road toward addiction recovery.
Delevingne said the viral photographs marked a turning point in her life after they led to lost modeling contracts and widespread concern from friends and colleagues.
She said, "Yeah, for sure, because people saw it. It was everywhere. I lost jobs. That sucked. People were really worried. That sucked. I got so many messages. It was horrible."
Asked whether brands distanced themselves because it was not "a good look," she replied: "Yeah, it's not a good look. As a model, you're meant to upkeep the brand's standards in some way. Like, it's in contracts that you sign.
"So, they didn't directly fire me because of it, but they didn't renew contracts."
