Gisele Bündchen suffered from panic attacks and suicidal thoughts at the height of her modeling career

In an interview for CBS News Sunday morningThe supermodel recalled that she struggled with panic attacks and even once considered taking her own life due to the stress at the height of her modeling career.

“You know, I’ve been in tunnels. I couldn’t breathe. And then I started being in studios and I felt like I was suffocating,” Bündchen told journalist Lee Cowan. “I lived on the 9th floor and had to walk up the stairs because I was afraid I would get stuck in the elevator and hyperventilate.”

“You know, when you can’t breathe even with the windows open, you feel like, ‘I don’t want to live like that, you know what I mean?'” She added, before Cowan asked: “Have you really thought about jumping? “

“Yes. For a second,” Bündchen admitted in response.

The 43 year old previously spoken about her mental health struggles while promoting her memoir, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Lifeback in 2018.

“Everything may look perfect on the outside, but you have no idea what’s really going on,” Bündchen said People by the time. “I felt like maybe it was time to share some of my vulnerabilities and I realized that I would never change everything that I’ve been through because I think that because of those experiences, I am the who I am.”

After her first panic attack in 2003 on a small plane, the Brazilian model developed a fear of tunnels, elevators and other enclosed spaces.

“I was in a wonderful position in my career,” she remembers. “I was very close to my family and always considered myself a positive person, so I really beat myself up. For example: ‘Why should I feel that?’ I felt like I wasn’t allowed to feel bad, but I felt powerless. Your world is getting smaller and smaller and you can’t breathe, which is the worst feeling I’ve ever had.”

The panic attacks began to overwhelm the model in her own home, causing her to have suicidal thoughts.

“I actually felt like, ‘If I just jump off my balcony, this will be over and I’ll never have to worry about my world falling apart,'” she shared.

Meanwhile, also during her upcoming interview with CBS News Sunday morningthe mother of two, was thinking about her divorce Tom Brady. The former couple, who share children Benjamin, 13, and Vivian, 10, divorced in 2022 after 13 years of marriage.

“I mean, it’s not what I dreamed and hoped for,” she said. “My parents have been married for 50 years and I really wanted this to happen. But I think you have to accept that sometimes, as you are in your twenties, sometimes you grow together, sometimes you grow apart.” I mean, he’s the father of my children, you know? So I always wish him the best and am so grateful that he gave me wonderful children.

Bündchen also opened up about how her life has changed since her divorce.

“I can choose more of what I want,” she said. “I think I used to be more of a survivor, and now I’m living, which is different.”

Bündchen’s full interview appears on Sunday.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health Text “STRENGTH” Call the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.