‘Life is easier when you’re pretty’: Former Vogue model Sandra Howard reveals her struggles with ageing

Former Vogue model Sandra Howard has revealed she’s struggled to accept the “tick, tick of the clock”, saying she hasn’t overly enjoyed the ageing process.

The 82-year-old said part of the reason she’s struggling with the effects of time is that people don’t take notice of her the way they once did when she was younger, claiming that “life is easier when you’re pretty”.

“The ageing process is not a beautiful woman’s friend. There comes a point when you have to bow to the laws of gravity and time,” Howard penned in the Daily Mail.

“I enjoyed the wolf whistles from builders, the occasional winking upgrade when checking in for a flight.

“No, it’s not right, but I’m afraid life is easier when you’re pretty.”

Doing what a woman should never do… reveal the bald bare facts of her age! https://t.co/ex44PRBUg0

— sandra howard (@howardsandrac) August 29, 2022

The model-turned-novelist said she won’t let herself “think and act old” however, she finds it “impossible to avoid those daily reminders – stiffness, creaky joints, background noise (the excuse for deafness) – of just how old [she] really [is]”.

In her open letter, Howard attributed part of her struggles with age to the “bitter realisation” that her career as a model had made it so that she was left with no other “tools of trade” other than her beauty.

“The modelling jobs were slowly drying up. Gradually I had afternoons, then whole days, without a booking — something unheard of in my prime — and my spirits sank,” she wrote.

“I tried cucumber on my eyes, eight hours’ sleep, one remedy after the other to stave off the years. But nothing too drastic — my husband wouldn’t allow any of that, saying he loved me just as I was.

“I needed a new project, and tried doing a bit of PR. But my heart wasn’t in it and I worried about what else I could possibly do.

“It was only when, aged 60, I finally had the confidence to realise my secret ambition to write novels that I regained the long-lost sense of excitement and thrill.”

Howard’s view on ageing stands in stark contrast to Australian actress Naomi Watts, who at 53 years old appreciates the “empowerment” of time, stating that “getting older is a privilege”.

 

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A post shared by Naomi Watts (@naomiwatts)

Watts recently posted a selfie on Instagram where she opened up about the ageing process while sharing her own experience with menopause which she admitted caught her by surprise.

“Let’s conquer the stigma and address the secrecy and shame we’ve felt and help create a healthier foundation for future generations,” Watts wrote on Instagram.

“Getting older is a privilege and a time for us to feel proud of our cumulative experiences — to feel empowered, unapologetically so. I think being part of a change-maker generation is exciting. No more walking through this alone.”