Naomi Campbell Feels Like She ‘Sacrificed’ Finding a Soul Mate for Fame, Opens Up About Strong Connection to Africa

Naomi Campbell‘s career has taken her all over the world and put her in the same rooms as the most famous people, and in some of the most fashionable clothing, but the supermodel admits that having it all hasn’t come without a price.

Campbell admitted that the cost of super-stardom and a life of luxury was being able to find a “soulmate who will understand” the exciting, jet-setting life in the limelight that she’s been blessed with.

Naomi Campbell walks the runway during the Kenneth Ize show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on February 24, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)

“I’d say the sacrifice is really finding that soul mate who will understand you,” she told The Cut. “It’s really like you feel if they look at you as if you’re strong … you know, I’m strong, but I’m also sensitive. I know that in relationships I have to compromise.”

While she hasn’t met her soul mate yet, the model has not missed out on love completely and has been enjoying the search for Mr. Right. She’s been married twice, dated billionaires, and has been linked to celebrities including Usher, Robert De Niro, and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.

Campbell’s travels have taken her far and wide, but she admits that nowhere feels quite as much like home as Africa, “no matter what part.” “I may have Jamaican roots, but my Jamaican roots essentially come from Africa,” she said. “I feel rooted when I’m in Africa, no matter what part of Africa I go to.”

The model and actress put down roots on the continent, purchasing a sprawling Kenyan villa where she can escape for holidays. “It’s a very calming place,” Campbell told Architectural Digest. “You don’t really want to be on the phone. You’re not trying to find a television. You just want to read and be with yourself. It’s nice to just have the silence and the crickets.”

Naomi Campbell shows Africa some love. @naomicampbell/Instagram

Campbell was also named Magical Kenya International Ambassador by Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife in January.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top