Lady Gaga admits she was ‘living on the edge’ and used drinking and smoking as an ‘escape route’

Lady Gaga admits she was “living on the edge” and is content with being “boring” now.

The 38-year-old pop superstar – who got engaged to Michael Polansky in April 2024 after more than four years of dating – has admitted she would turn to drink and smoke “a lot” whenever she needed an “escape route”.

She told the March 2025 issue of ELLE UK – of which she is the cover star – that: “I used to drink a lot and smoke a lot, and I was always looking for an out. I used to call it the trap door. I used to be like, ‘I need an escape route.’ And I stopped doing that. And I actually started feeling it. Being present. As an artist, it’s hard to go through that and not want to share that with my fans.”

The ‘Poker Face’ hitmaker is the happiest she has ever been but admits things could have turned out for the worst if she had carried on living that way.

She said: “Sometimes, I worry people will say I’m boring these days, but honestly, thank God I’m boring. Thank God! Because I was living on the edge. I don’t know what was going to happen to me living that way. So, the fact that I have these answers, on the one hand, I’m like, ‘Oh man, snooze fest!’ But actually, I’m so grateful. Because I found a sense of happiness and joy that is true to me.”

The ‘House of Gucci’ actress – who puts on the persona of Lady Gaga – also shared that her future husband feels lucky to see the real Stefani Germanotta.

She said: “He used to say to me when we first met, ‘You are a special human being when the cameras aren’t on you. And I get to see that all the time.”’

And Gaga – who will release her seventh studio album ‘Mayhem’ on March 7 – admits she wants to be her authentic self more instead of putting on an act all the time.

She said: “I’m just trying to feel as in my skin as possible and not like I’m performing all the time. For me, I’m at a place in my life where I just want to feel like myself in clothes. Whatever that means. So if that’s changing, I just want to go with that feeling.”

However, she has no plans to drop her stage name.

Asked if it’s on the cards, she said: “No! I love being Lady Gaga. I love being me. I became a star when I was 20. Everything gets reflected back to you that this persona is what makes you special.”

The March issue of ELLE UK is on sale from February 6. Head to https://www.elle.com/uk/lady-gaga-interview to read the interview.