No surprise, Lady Gaga covers the October issue of Vogue to promote A Star Is Born. Gone are the meat dresses and performative weirdness, and now what we’re left with is… Gaga, Somewhat Natural. There’s still a lot of artifice, but there’s a lot about her which is more low-key. Part of that is “being in her 30s.” This Vogue profile also highlights another event: ten years of Gaga. In 2008, “Let’s Dance” came out and she became a superstar. A Decade of Gaga! The Gaga Decade? Maybe not. Still, this was a half decent-read. Vogue interviewed Gaga at her Malibu home, where she has ocean views and a horse named Arabella. Gaga restfully contemplates her peaceful life while clad in a see-through robe, a thong, a bra and diamonds. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Her Malibu home: “This is my sanctuary. My oasis of peace. I call it my ‘gypsy palace.’ I just got rid of my place in New York—it was too hectic every day outside on the street.”

A Decade of Gaga: “There has been a galaxy of change… I would just say that it’s been a nonstop whirlwind. And when I am in an imaginative or creative mode, it sort of grabs me like a sleigh with a thousand horses and pulls me away and I just don’t stop working…. You . . . make friends, you lose friends, you build tighter bonds with people you’ve known for your whole life. But there’s a lot of emotional pain, and you can’t really understand what it all means until ten years has gone by.”

She loves Bradley Cooper: “The second that I saw him. I was like, Have I known you my whole life? It was an instant connection, instant understanding of one another…. Before I knew it, I was making him lunch and we were talking. And then he said, ‘I want to see if we can sing this song together.’ ”

When love & fame mix: “They’re both very complex, layered things, with a lot of emotional depth, and he captured that. This is what I think makes the film so successful: that it was so real. And I’ve lived it, so I can testify to that.”

The unfolding Me Too Movement: “I feel like I’ve been an advocate but also a shocked audience member, watching #MeToo happen. I’m still in disbelief. And I’ve never come forward and said who molested me, but I think every person has their own relationship with that kind of trauma.”

Dealing with fibromyalgia: “I get so irritated with people who don’t believe fibromyalgia is real. For me, and I think for many others, it’s really a cyclone of anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, and panic disorder, all of which sends the nervous system into overdrive, and then you have nerve pain as a result. People need to be more compassionate. Chronic pain is no joke. And it’s every day waking up not knowing how you’re going to feel…. it’s getting better every day because now I have fantastic doctors who take care of me and are getting me show-ready.”

She’s all heart: “I am not a brand. I have my unique existence, just as everyone else does, and at the end of the day, it’s our humanity that connects us—our bodies and our biology. That’s what breeds compassion and empathy, and those are the things that I care the most about. Kindness! It can drive you mad. Someone very important in my life says to me often, ‘You cannot stare at the carnage all day.’ And I think . . . you have to stare at the carnage to an extent because if not, you’re being ignorant and complacent—to not view injustice and want to be a part of advocating for others. But. . . . Once we just look each other in the eyes, if we can keep that contact, that contract, I think the world will be a better place.”

[From Vogue]

Bradley Cooper is quoted at length, almost like it’s HIS Vogue profile, which might even happen because I believe Anna Wintour IS a fan? Gaga and Bradley are trying to sell us on the “old married couple” aspect of their friendship, like they bonded so thoroughly that now they know each other’s thoughts or something. I’m not so sure, but I think they get along well enough. As for the rest of it… she talks at length about her health and dealing with trauma and… fashion. In her Malibu home, she has two full rooms dedicated to fashion and vintage Versace and all of her old costumes and so much more. Those must be fun rooms to visit.

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When asked what has changed for her over these last ten years, October cover star @LadyGaga, who’s 32, says, “A galaxy,” and laughs. “There has been a galaxy of change.” She pauses for a moment. “I would just say that it’s been a nonstop whirlwind. And when I am in an imaginative or creative mode, it sort of grabs me like a sleigh with a thousand horses and pulls me away and I just don’t stop working.” Another pause. “You . . . make friends, you lose friends, you build tighter bonds with people you’ve known for your whole life. But there’s a lot of emotional pain, and you can’t really understand what it all means until ten years has gone by.” Tap the link in our bio to read the full interview. Photographed by @inezandvinoodh, styled by @tonnegood, Vogue, October 2018.

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Sep 10, 2018 at 9:14am PDT

Photos courtesy of INEZ AND VINOODH for Vogue.