Chrissy Teigen was the most beloved person on the internet. Then people took a closer look.

Cast your mind back to 2017. It was pre-COVID, everyone refused to take a photo without the Snapchat dog filter, we were drawing on our eyebrows using the Anastasia Dip Brow pomade... and Chrissy Teigen was on top of the world.

There wasn't a person on the internet who wasn't keeping up with Teigen's Twitter and Snapchat accounts. She was hilarious, honest and for a wealthy celebrity who had it all, surprisingly refreshing. 

Watch: Courtney Stodden discusses bullying tweets from Chrissy Teigen. Post continues below.

She would often give fans a glimpse into her life with husband John Legend and their daughter, Luna, who at the time, was an only child. It was as if she was our friend, albeit one living in a very different tax bracket.

Also making an appearance on Teigen's social media was her mum, and together, the two would share what they were cooking that evening. The model never held back on telling people how big of a foodie she was — just a year before she had released her first of three cookbooks, Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat. 

She collaborated with beauty brand Becca and released her own highlighter palette and she was a co-host on the wildly successful show, Lip Sync Battle. 

Life was good. Until it wasn't.

At the time, Teigen didn't know that just two years later, a string of scandals would see her run from the spotlight. 

November 2019.

Everyone's parents do funny things, and oftentimes, we choose to make fun of them for it. Teigen however, was called "tone deaf" after she tweeted the reasoning behind why her mum has bought multiple pairs of AirPods.

"My mom treats her air pods like they're disposable. Buys a few a month. She says they would be easier to not lose if they had....a cord," she wrote.

Unfortunately, it didn't get the response she had expected, with many labelling the tweet as insensitive to those who were struggling to make ends meet.

Teigen was quick to apologise, saying "It was meant as a joke."

Oh man I haven’t checked my mentions for a bit and I didn’t realize how many people were super pissed off about this. It was meant as a joke (and exaggeration) about how my mom doesn’t realize air pods are with a cord are headphones but it came across as super tone deaf and icky.

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 8, 2019

January 2021.

A little over a year later, Teigen made headlines again after she and Legend attended Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' presidential inauguration while when Americans were ordered to stay at home due to COVID.

When she was questioned about why she couldn't attend virtually by a user on Twitter, she fired back.

"For f...s sake why are you guys always always mad at me, all I wanna do is make you happy or at least leave you with a neutral feeling of indifference," she said.

February 2021.

2021 was a turbulent time. People were struggling to put food on the table because of COVID layoffs and the general state of the world. 

So when Teigen revealed that she and Legend once spent US$13,000 on a bottle of wine, her fans were furious. 

"What’s the most expensive thing you’ve eaten that you thought sucked?" she asked her followers.

"One time John and I were at a restaurant and the waiter recommended a nice Cabernet. We got the bill, and it was 13,000 dollars."

Users on Twitter immediately clapped back, with one saying: "I don’t think I have ever had 13 thousand dollars at one time, but great story Chrissy!"

Teigen later issued a response.

"Not everything I say on my Twitter is going to be relatable to you because it is my life and my Twitter and my stories," she tweeted.

"I see your tweets, I get your jokes, you are so funny, yes, you really nailed me."

March 2021.

In March 2021, Teigen had had enough of the hate she was receiving and announced that she was leaving Twitter for good.

"For over 10 years, you guys have been my world. I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends," she wrote.

"But it’s time for me to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.

"I encourage you to know and never forget that your words matter. No matter what you see, what that person portrays, or your intention. For years I have taken so many small, two-follower count punches that at this point, I am honestly deeply bruised."

That was when reality TV star Courtney Stodden stepped in and shared several screenshots of Teigen bullying them.

"What a shame @chrissyteigen is leaving Twitter … it’s too ‘negative’ for herrrrrr #chrissyteigen #bully," wrote Stodden.

From here, a few 'tone deaf' misdemeanours became something bigger, and things started to escalate. 

Stodden, who identifies as non-binary, sat down with the Daily Beast and opened up about their relationship with actor Doug Hutchinson, which began when they were 16 and he was 51.

Stodden said they felt "groomed" and that Teigen was one of their most high-profile bullies. According to the TV personality, Teigen would publically and privately threaten them by encouraging them to take a "dirt nap" and "go to sleep forever."

In a direct message, she told Stodden that she couldn't "wait for them to die."

After the interview went live, Teigen returned to Twitter to issue an apology — one that people did not buy.

"Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bullshit in front of the entire world. I'm mortified and sad at who I used to be," Teigen wrote.

"I was an insecure, attention seeking troll. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behaviour."

And I am so sorry I let you guys down. I will forever work on being better than I was 10 years ago, 1 year ago, 6 months ago.

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 12, 2021

May 2021.

The Stodden incident led people to dig up Teigen's old tweets, where they discovered her attacking people like Lindsay Lohan and Farrah Abrams. 

In a tweet from 2013, Teigen went so far as calling Abrams a "whore".

In another resurfaced tweet, Teigen labelled actress Quvenzhane Wallis "cocky". She was 13 at the time.

June 2021.

Teigen followed up her initial apology with a lengthier one, this time publishing it in Medium.

"Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven’t felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I’ve said in the past," she wrote.

"As you know, a bunch of my old awful (awful, awful) tweets resurfaced. I’m truly ashamed of them. As I look at them and understand the hurt they caused, I have to stop and wonder: How could I have done that?"

She acknowledged that there are multiple people that deserve an apology from her.

"I understand that they may not want to speak to me," Teigen continued. "I don’t think I’d like to speak to me... But if they do, I am here and I will listen to what they have to say, while apologising through sobs. There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets. My targets didn’t deserve them. No one does. Many of them needed empathy, kindness, understanding and support, not my meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy humour."

"Words have consequences and there are real people behind the Twitter handles I went after. I wasn’t just attacking some random avatar, but hurting young women — some who were still girls — who had feelings,” she said. 

“I’m telling you this for context, not seeking or deserving any sympathy… I won’t ask for your forgiveness, only your patience and tolerance. I ask that you allow me, as I promise to allow you, to own past mistakes and be given the opportunity to seek self-improvement and change."

That same month Teigen found herself embroiled in yet another cyberbullying scandal, however, this one was proven to be false.

Fashion designer Michael Costello claimed that Teigen led him to have suicidal thoughts after she bullied him online.

"I didn't see the point of living. There was no way I can ever escape from being the target of the powerful elites in Hollywood, who actually do have the powers to close doors with a single text," he wrote on social media. 

"Not only was I the target of cyber defamation, I was also getting blocklisted [sic] in real life."

Costello shared alleged screenshots of the messages, prompting Legend to respond on his own social media.

"Chrissy apologised for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened," he wrote on Twitter, linking back to a report published by Business Insider that claimed the messages were fabricated. 

Teigen followed up his accusations with a statement of her own, saying she had never bullied him and that the screenshots were doctored.

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A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen)

In March 2021, Teigen partnered with Kris Jenner and Emma Gred to launch cleaning company Safely. But three months later, the business announced that she would be "stepping away" to "take much needed time to focus on herself and be with her family."

Chrissy Teigen's life now.

Since Teigen's old tweets came to light, she's chosen to keep a relatively low profile, no longer hosting big prime time shows. 

Instead, she's focusing on being a mother-of-four — a journey that did not come easily to her. Teigen has been an advocate for openness about baby loss after she was forced to terminate the pregnancy of her son Jack, at 20 weeks due to partial placenta abruption. 

She still shares her life online (to Instagram), with behind-the-scenes snaps showcasing her marriage to John Legend and gorgeous children. She also attends red carpet events, standing by Legend's side, and is cooking up a storm in the kitchen. 

She is still head of all "delicious things" at Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, per her Instagram, and the co-founder of dog-brand Kismet. 

Feature Image: Getty.