Dress: Boutique one sixty nine (Photo: Shay Franco)
One day last month, just before she posted a picture of herself that her partner had taken, Eden Pines realized she had changed. The change did not come as a result of criticism on websites and social networks (“Anyone who does not connect is welcome to download a follower,” she points out) – but for a much simpler reason.
“I no longer post exposed photos like I used to,” she says today and also explains: “I’m just working on leaving a mark from a high place and not a place of scandals. Today is good for me in my home, in my relationship, and I no longer want to show how much fun I can have. To say I grew up. “
How it manifests itself?
“A month ago I was with Ilan, my partner, in Costa Rica. He photographed me in a picture where the braids hide my body, with no clothes underneath. I used to post this picture without hesitation, but suddenly I felt it was too much, that it was excessive to upload anything. such a”.
And how did Ilan react?
“He did not understand where it came from. He said to me ‘Eden, I fell in love with you because of who you are and as you are, why are you suddenly pious?’ I would think twice. “
I ran away from being a girl
Pines (24) may look like she was born in front of the camera, but in fact she was not even in the direction of modeling as a girl. “I was a Tom Boy, I played football and basketball, and I competed in the high jump, I literally ran away from being a girl,” she says. “My mother dressed me in style, t-shirts and cookies. But at the time, unlike today, I did not like it.”
When she was in twelfth grade, her mother was also the one who signed her up for the beauty pageant. “I was tested for the contest because I thought it would be nice to meet new girlfriends,” she recalls. In retrospect, this competition was my first step in the world of modeling and in the world of femininity in general. “Suddenly I had to wear dresses.”
And beyond the dresses, how did the ceremony go for you?
“It was stunning. Once upon a time everything was different. I got a taste of the modeling world of yesteryear, before the MeToo era and before everything was politically correct.”
Are you saying that in a good or bad way?
“Both. Today there is criticism of everything someone says. On the other hand, today people feel much less comfortable saying things that can hurt. Comments on the body, weight or appearance.”
Did you receive such comments?
“At first non-stop. They would tell me to lose five pounds, and there were more insulting things. Some stylist told me I could not be a model because I did not get into clothes. I was a 36-38 size, which is a stunning size.”
Dress: Renoir | Tights: Glow | Shoes: personal collection (Photo: Shai Franco)
Pines was then during her military service in the Intelligence Corps, and fought the comments she received regarding her weight. “I lost 12 kilos, I weighed 48,” she says. “At first they would compliment me, they would say ‘what a bomb’, and ‘how you lost weight!’. But later they said that my body no longer looked good, that I was too thin. . I had periods of insane binge eating and periods that I did not touch food at all. They wanted me to be hospitalized, and at the same time it was decided to take me out of the army. “They were not willing to take responsibility for me, it made me very sad.”
At that not-so-simple time, she decided to break up a two-year relationship. “I would not want to remember this relationship,” she says. “But she at least taught me what I do not want my next man to have.”
What was in it?
“Everything is not good. In the first half year everything was stunning between us, but then he became less nice, less pleasant, violent. Later I also found out that he was cheating on me. When he did not like certain things I did he would catch me in shape, let’s say no. I went into a loop with myself, at first I said ‘this blow was by mistake’ or ‘he cheated on me because I did something wrong.’ So”.
Moments after the breakup, she boarded a flight to London to try her luck as an international model, and there her modeling career soared. She has done campaigns for asos, Forever21 and more. And her face starred in every corner. “It’s been a crazy year and a half, that I haven’t stopped working on it for a moment,” Pines says. “In retrospect I do not know if I would have employed myself there at all.”
Why?
“I was such a crazy girl, an Israeli with full self-confidence. In a surprising segment, they got the most beautiful thing in the world.”
Cape: Adi Karni | Flower brooch: Hadar Shevach (Photo: Shai Franco)
19 years old, alone in London, in such an industry – have you ever experienced sexual harassment there?
“Obviously. There were people from the industry who offered me to go out, not because they like me, but because ‘that’s how things go’. I never did anything like that. Beyond that, most of the harassment was on the street. I remember once landing in London in the middle of the night Two huge suitcases. A bunch of boys saw me and kept calling me and following me. I started running with the suitcases and they shouted at me. Life went on in my head. I turned to some man I saw on the street and asked him to go with me but he was also afraid of them. I kept running until they “Stop and release me, that was the scariest thing in the world.”
When she returned to Israel, at the age of 20, she starred in a clip for the song “Caramel” by Moshe Peretz, which opened doors for her in the Israeli entertainment world. She then modeled for Fix Vernoir, and even served a corner on the “Hot Night” program with Ofira Asaig and Eyal Berkowitz.
At that time she knew “Big Brother” Omri Ben Natan, with whom she had a ten-month relationship, and when they broke up she was in a relationship with model Dor Refaeli (“I have not one bad word to say about him. He is stunning but our expectations were different”) . In the summer of 2020, she met the diamond dealer Ilan Mesika, and started with him. “Why did I always have to choose from those who choose me?” She wonders. “Sorry, with all due respect, I’m the one to choose first.”
Bodysuit: Daizy Shely (Photo: Shay Franco)
So what did you do?
“I saw him at the party, stroked him and said ‘Hey, what’s up?’. We talked a bit, exchanged phones and invited him to my birthday which was a few days later. From that day we did not stop talking for a moment.”
You will soon be celebrating two years. Is there an offer on the episode?
“With the help of the name. I feel it is this. I feel with him differently from everything I have felt so far, and I want him to be my husband. If God forbid, God forbid, he will not be my husband – I will never marry and believe in marriage again. Because we will get married. “
With his spouse Ilan Mesika (Photo: Or Geffen)
If someone is not good to me then he is not good to me
Mesika (28) is a descendant of a diamond family. His mother, Dana Mesika, is a former model and current fashion designer, and is married to diamond dealer Andre Mesika. Ilan’s half-sister, Valerie Mesika, owns the successful French jewelry brand MESSIKA.
The same brand made headlines here in Israel in a negative context, when their Instagram page posted a birthday greeting for the former Frenchwoman, the model of Dutch-Palestinian descent Gigi Hadid. Shortly afterwards, it all rolled into Pines’ mouth. “I got horrible reactions for the fact that my partner’s sister’s brand published a congratulatory post for Gigi. They wrote to me ‘how are you capable’, and ‘how do you advertise it’. Do you get it? About something that is not even related to me or Ilan First of all, it’s not Gigi who spoke out against Israel, it’s Bella from sabotage, ‘her sister. “There’s no story here. Today in gossip they are just looking for ways to take down and do harm to others.”
From Renoir’s campaign (Photo: Liran Moore)
What do you mean?
“Lately I feel there is a turnaround in the entertainment world. Gossip has become disgusting and gossip has no respect, they are only looking for what is not good in others. And somehow all that is bad is immediately perceived as authentic. Listen, I’m not a self-interested person. “It does not suit me well, I do not lick anyone for anything, I always keep who I am, but in this industry people stab me in the back. I feel like they are looking for me and it sucks murder.”
But all of that has always been part of the entertainment industry.
“I accept it, I do not complain and do not say ‘Oh, Mr. Fateful.’ I understand that this is my job, but today privacy is no longer respected at all. I was glad that less would go into my gut. Girlfriends who are also famous and we talked about how uncomfortable we are. I’m afraid to take one bite too much or say something to a friend and it will pass. Why should I feel uncomfortable sitting with my best friend in a cafe so they do not post it and write ‘Who’s the guy The new one that Eden is sitting with “Why should I be afraid that they will take recordings that I sent jokingly on WhatsApp years ago and make them an item?”.
To the extent that?
“Honestly, nowadays, if I’m not something during the day, I prefer to shut myself in the house. I prefer not to go out, in case someone turns to me and I accidentally respond with an unpleasant face, then they will gossip about me as human garbage.”
You sound frustrated.
“Yeah, because there’s a sense of having to go for eggs in this industry. It’s not the glamorous world anymore, it’s not glamorous if you’re constantly looking to get something bad out of you. We’re humans, wat de pak. Why not report good news? Think how cool if There was a ‘good gossip’ page, about who volunteers, who helps, who does good and who is good for him. “
You threw an idea here.
“It’s really the most interesting in my opinion. I would like to pick up something like that, but not now, I do not have time.”
Dress: Renoir | Tights: Glow | Shoes: personal collection (Photo: Shai Franco)
The cards led me
In recent years, Pines has been developing other avenues besides modeling – some spiritual, some business. “I have been treated for years by a coach who works with me using tarot cards,” she says. “Through the cards you can raise questions and get answers. The treatment does me a lot of good, and because I strongly believe in energies and really like to learn, I decided to take a course in tarot and numerology. It’s a bit like learning magic.”
How did it help you?
“Listen, I’m not a person who easily believes in things like a fortune teller, but in my treatment the cards have done their thing. There are those who will say it’s a regret, I do not agree with it, and even if you do, you know what? “So why not?”
Drive to start a business for example?
“Yes, the cards led me to the right decisions for me, and helped me understand that I could do it myself.”
Pines recently set up its own business – FIFI BEAUTY, a grooming brand that offers solutions for curly hair. “For the first two and a half years I did everything on my own. I visited factories in Israel and around the world, tried endless formulas and turned myself into a lab mouse.
Dress: Boutique one sixty nine (Photo: Shay Franco)
And how did the business world treat you?
“There were people, heavy cannons in the industry, who respected me and talked to me at eye level, and there were factories that I had a harder time working with. Let’s say there was one factory that treated me dirty.”
what happened there?
“I wanted to launch a beauty product up front. I came to one of the factories with a formula I had formulated and asked them to make a product out of it. A few weeks later it was reported that my colleague took out the exact same product, through the same factory. “I was madly angry with them, I called and sent them endless messages, and they filtered me. How do you say? On the thief’s head the hat burns. I was nervous for two months about this story.
Did you talk to the colleague who launched the product?
“Obviously. I wanted to understand if she knew about it. She was in the market and said she had no idea what I was talking about, she did not know it was my formula. I was not angry with her, I totally believe her that is what happened, and if so, it is not up to me and it is not “It depends on her and I have no reason to waste energies on those nerves. In retrospect I know I had to sign the contract, but there were no professionals around me who accompanied me at the time so I did not know how to do it.”
After that burn, she is a member of the Rice Group, which imports and exports Pharm products, and together with them continued to work on its product line, which she marketed for sale in all Super Pharm branches. “I admit, I do not know if I would have been able to reach such an insane size on my own. Actually I could, but after many more years of very hard work.”
Have you ever considered becoming a businesswoman?
“Absolutely. I always wanted to have my own business and I also knew it would happen. Listen, I know the world of glamor and modeling but I also understand that it’s not for life. There’s nothing to do. Beyond that, it’s important to me to be remembered as someone who did more than modeling. “History, which helped a certain population. All my life I enjoyed my hair but I also suffered from it, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. For me curls are my mission.”
From the campaign for FIFI (Photo: Ran Levy)
Photo: Shay Franco Production: Or-El Rabinowitz | Styling: Chaya Wieder, p. Styling: Meital Ben Ezra | Hair: Young Light Makeup: Ortal Elimelech Art: Hannah Buchnik
Flowers: Silk flowers from the Netherlands – Silk Tel Aviv, Monso Flor Tel Aviv, Noa Kadmon – Concept design in flowers