Bella Hadid’s alleged stalker was arrested Thursday night outside her New York City apartment, thanks to her quick thinking.
A law enforcement source told TMZ that the 21-year-old Hadid was walking toward her building at about 9:30 p.m. ET, when she saw the 37-year-old man outside her apartment and immediately recognized him. She then promptly called police.
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Police believe the man has been sending Hadid messages on social media, which escalated to threats against her and her family. The messages began in December.
The man is still in police custody. He was booked for stalking and aggravated harassment.
Hadid’s older sister, fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid, also dealt with a stalker. In July, Marcell Porter was sentenced to one to three years in prison for stalking the supermodel. The judge told Porter if he got close to Gigi Hadid, he would lock you up so fast you won’t know what hit you,” Page Six reported at the time.
Porter pleaded guilty to burglary and stalking charges for trying to get into Gigi Hadid’s New York apartment and left disturbing Facebook messages. According to the court documents, Porter told Gigi Hadid’s super, “I’m paramilitary and I saved her life before. She wants to marry me and have my kids.”
Meanwhile, Hadid’s profile continues to grow, to the size of a Times Square billboard. Hadid appears on the new Bvlgari jewellery billboard, which was unveiled this week and shown off on her Instagram page. It is part of her third campaign with the brand.
“It’s crazy, I feel like I’ve done so much, and I’ve worked a lot — but I still have so much to do, so many things to check off my bucket list,” Bella told Harper’s Bazaar this week. “I think I have a lot to do with the American fashion magazines, like Harper’s Bazaar. A lot of artistic things I want to do, it’s not always about how many editorials you can get.”
