'I believed my own hype': Caprice admits her ego was out of control in the 90s

As a model, Caprice Bourret appeared on over 250 magazine covers and at the height of her fame in the ‘90s and early noughties was hot property with the lad’s mags of the day.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, Caprice says that while she enjoyed her career, such major success led to her developing a huge ego.

“At the time my ego was ginormous,” she told podcast host Kate Thornton. “I believed my own hype!

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“I'd have my assistant call up the clubs and demand free alcohol because they would get so much publicity. It was a business to be fair – and they did get a lot of publicity – but still it's just stuff I wouldn't do now!”

Caprice, who went into modelling straight after leaving school, aged just 17, said things really took off for her when she moved to London at age 25.

“Money was growing on trees,” she recalled. “Can you imagine? All I had to do is look at a camera and make something look good. I remember one campaign that I did, I got paid $1 million.”

The downside to fame and fortune though was being surrounded by lots of ‘yes’ men, which Kate put to Caprice was “not always a very productive headspace to be in”.

Caprice agreed, saying: “Nobody said no – and you’re in your 20s as well. I’m the first one to say I believed my own hype. It was crazy!”

The model-turned-businesswoman said she has no regrets about that time of her life though.

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“I had a great time,” she laughed. “I partied like a rock star, so I had an amazing time. And to be able to have that kind of journey… I feel really blessed, you know?”

When asked by Kate what helped the shift in her attitude, Caprice said it was all down to her mum.

“My mum put me in shape,” she revealed. “My mum was quite tough and she kind of put the fear of God in me.

“At the end of the day I knew what it was like to be broke and I was so scared to go back there. I know how hard it is to make it, and I know how hard it is to keep it.”

One very sensible thing Caprice did was to buy back her lingerie range that she had previously licensed to Debenhams, because she knew “that they would have dropped me eventually and gone on with the younger and the more popular flavour of the moment.” However, her ego nearly ruined it all for her.

“The first season was a disaster,” she admitted. “Other people really didn't like my design – that was my ego again at the time. It wasn't commercial, so I brought in a designer and that season I lost a quarter of a million.”

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Asked by Kate how she managed to turn it around into her flourishing business of today, By Caprice, the model said you have to “learn from your mistakes and keep going.”

She continued: “Even to this day, I'm scared to death to be broke. I am so careful still, especially with the kids. Once you have kids, it kind of puts a firecracker up your tushy! I want to go out there and rule the world again for my kids.”

Hear Caprice talk more about becoming a businesswoman, meeting the love of her life and her fertility battles in the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.