filling things up too much, by
looking at my diary way too far
in advance...’ she continues.
Exercise helps, but not always.
‘Sometimes, you just have to
write some days off, and I know
that’s a terrible thing to say, but
it’s the truth. I had a day where
I was at work and was like, I’ll
go for a walk, I’ll do my training
and then I’m going to feel much
better afterwards. And I didn’t.
[Those feelings] just followed
me through the whole day,’ she
continues. ‘[So] I had a bath and
put lavender on my pillow and
all that kind of crap, [knowing
that] it just might not go away...’
It’s a candid acceptance of
the daily struggle of life with
an anxious mind. ‘[Sometimes],
you have to just be with it... You
should still try to go about your
day, but, like, [accepting that]
you’ll have that niggling feeling
in your stomach and your heart
beating a bit faster.’ Cutting
down alcohol consumption
helps, something made easier
since Spencer gave up drinking
last year. Vogue’s not teetotal;
she’s an occasion drinker (ie,
she’ll get boozy at parties),
currently so scarred by a
hangover from her friend’s stag
do last weekend in Hamburg –
‘I had a little hungover tear and
was looking up flights to leave
early’ – that she’s happy to forgo
the sauce for the foreseeable.
‘It’s kind of nice that he doesn’t
drink, because I prefer to spend
my money on tennis lessons,’
she says, before catching herself
and bursting into laughter.
‘That’s so sad! I’m a loser!’ It’s
time to go; she drains her tea,
passes the cherubic Theodore
over for a farewell cuddle and
picks up her dog ’s lead. I leave
with the sense that, far from
being a loser, this is a woman
determined to win, no matter
how big or small the prize.32
W
O
M
E
N
’S
H
E
A
L
T
H
C
O
V
E
R
S
T
O
R
Y
‘You just
have to
write some
days off, and
I know that’s
a terrible
thing to
say, but it’s
the truth’