Flying solo! Model Hailey Baldwin stepped out on the pink carpet at the 2019 Met Gala on Monday, May 6 without her husband, Justin Bieber. It seems like the 25-year-old decided to let his 22-year-old wife have the spotlight for the biggest fashion event of the year, opting to stay home with some takeout while she strutted her stuff with the fashion elite. Hailey looked absolutely stunning in a super slim, baby pink custom Alexander Wang floor-length gown featuring a high neck. But the most jaw-dropping detail was that the dress was completely backless, adding a sexy yet sophisticated touch. This isn’t Hailey’s first Met Gala! The model has been a regular for years, starting with her Met Gala debut in 2015, dressing in the “China: Through The Looking Glass” theme. Hailey returned in 2016 for the “Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology” theme, then again in 2017 for the “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between” theme. Of course, she also attended last year’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination” themed event. As for Justin’s absence, well, it’s not the first time he’s skipped the big fashion night. The first and only time that he made an appearance at the Met Ball was for debut in 2015, which is the same year that his current wife attended the gala for the first time. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images But Hailey’s Met Gala solo appearance is proof of how much can change in a year. This time last year, Hailey attended the 2018 Met Gala with her then-boyfriend, pop star Shawn Mendes, and now she’s married to the “No Brainer” singer. Shawn and Hailey dated off and on for about a year before going public with their romance at the most prestigious fashion event of the year, only to call it quits just weeks later. In June, just one month after the Met Gala — and shortly after his last and final split from on-again, off-again girlfriend Selena Gomez — Justin and Hailey were spotted out together. The couple was engaged by July and they tied the knot that September and the rest is history. Talk about a whirlwind romance!<doc-sep>Hailey Baldwin didn't get Justin Bieber to return to the Met Gala tonight in what would've been his first time at the event in four years. But Baldwin stepped out alone, wearing a millennial pink dress with an open back that exposed what looked like a bedazzled Alexander Wang thong. She finished the look off with a black bow in her hair. Getty Images Bieber shared an Instagram Story of himself eating takeout, meanwhile, as people were walking the carpet: Baldwin teased her Met Gala appearance last Monday on her Instagram. "Monday!!!" she wrote on the photo of herself from the 2018 Met Gala. (She went to that Met Gala with Shawn Mendes.) Instagram Baldwin and Bieber's last Met Gala appearances offer an interesting glimpse at their love lives before they ultimately recommitted to each other in June and got married in September. Bieber's last and only time at the Met Gala was in May 2015, where he made headlines for what he said about his then on-off girlfriend Selena Gomez (they were off then.) He famously yelled to paparazzi, "Selena looked gorgeous at the Met Ball!" while leaving the event. This is how Gomez looked at it: And what the Biebs wore: Lars Niki Getty Images Baldwin, meanwhile, was at the event last year. While she had attended before in 2017, 2016 and 2015, it was her first year taking a date, her then-rumored boyfriend Shawn Mendes. The two would explain that they weren't making any big debut as a couple; they were just going for Tommy Hilfiger as friends. “Obviously Hailey and I are friends, and it was just really cool for me to be able to walk with her because she’s a vet and it was my first year, so it kind of took the pressure off a little bit,” he told People before the night. “I was thrilled to be able to go with her.” Noam Galai Getty Images Baldwin at the 2017 Met Gala. John Shearer Getty Images Baldwin at the 2016 Met Gala. Karwai Tang Getty Images Baldwin with Bella Hadid at the 2015 Met Gala. Rabbani and Solimene Photography Getty Images But later that year in November, Mendes opened up to Rolling Stone and said actually, they were a thing. It was just complicated. “I don’t even wanna put a title on it," he said. "I think it was more of a zone of limbo.” Despite Baldwin getting engaged to Bieber less than two months after Baldwin and Mendes's Met Gala date, Mendes isn't bitter. "I get it, you know,” he said of Baldwin's decision to rekindle things with Bieber. “I texted Hailey, ‘Congratulations,’ [when they got engaged] and I really am happy for them. She’s still one of the fucking coolest people ever—she’s not just a beautiful person visually, but she’s one of the most beautiful hearts I’ve ever met.” Alyssa Bailey News and Strategy Editor Alyssa Bailey is the news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Hailey Bieber has arrived at the 2019 Met Gala, and so has her underwear. It simply wouldn't be the annual affair without an appearance from Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) and she certainly did not disappoint. However, her husband Justin Bieber was noticeably absent from the evening and did not accompany her to the star-studded gala. The 22-year-old model departed from The Surrey hotel in New York and was escorted by the designer Alexander Wang as she wore one of his designs. She looked gorgeous in a pink, floor-length gown. The look was ultra "business in the front, party in the back," as it featured a nearly entirely open back and train. Hailey wore her hair up in a high ponytail, which celeb hairstylist Jen Atkin accessorized with a black bow. The 22-year-old completed the sophisticated look with Bvlgari diamond earrings and large diamond engagement ring. There was one other aspect of Hailey's dress that caught a bit more attention: her matching pink thong that went up to her lower back. It, too, was made by the famous designer and read "WANG" in silver letters.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Hailey Baldwin is dangerously close to showing off her backside. The model, 22, attended the 2019 Met Gala on Monday night wearing a pink sequin Alexander Wang gown with a large cut-out back — and a bedazzled thong. The thin pink t-strap was finished with a “Wang” pin right above her butt. While Baldwin’s husband, Justin Bieber, was nowhere in sight, she posed on the pink carpet and finished her look with her blond hair teased up into a high ponytail with a black bow. The semi-scandalous dress showed off Baldwin’s two back tattoos, done by celebrity tattoo artist Jon Boy. She also looked especially tan after coming back from the Bahamas. Last week, Baldwin hit back at trolls who said she had a little too much fun in the sun; “So today the internet is mad at me for getting too tan!!!!! Shoot!!! !” she wrote along with a selfie. “I’ll do my best not to get so much sun next time I’m on vacation!” This marks Baldwin’s fifth consecutive Met appearance. Last year, she attended the “Heavenly Bodies”-themed event with then-boyfriend Shawn Mendes.<doc-sep>
Oh, what a difference a year makes! After making a splash at the 2018 Met Gala, Shawn Mendes and Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) returned to fashion’s biggest night separately on Monday, May 6. The 20-year-old “If I Can’t Have You” singer looked dapper in a Saint Laurent black suit and completed his look with slicked-back hair. Hailey, for her part, looked gorgeous in a pink, backless Alexander Wang gown. She also made headlines for attending the benefit sans her husband, Justin Bieber. The “Sorry” crooner made sure to compliment his wife on social media, however, calling her “stunning” via his Instagram Story. Twitter, meanwhile, couldn’t stop talking about a potential run-in between Mendes and the 22-year-old model. The twosome were linked in October 2017 until the following May, when they walked the red carpet together at the 2018 Met Gala with Tommy Hilfiger. Less than two months later, Hailey and Justin got engaged. “Remember that one year at met gala when shawn mendes and hailey baldwin went together. :’) @metgala,” one fan captioned a series of photos from the 2018 event. A second user wrote, “I still ship Shawn and Hailey 😭 #MetaGala.” “Lol but remember when hailey walked the met gala carpet with shawn last year and got engaged to justin bieber in like 3 weeks after how WILD was that,” another person noted. A fourth user added, “Hard to believe this time last year shawn took hailey to the met and a year later she’s been married to justin for 7 months..” Mendes addressed his relationship with Hailey during an interview with Rolling Stone in November 2018. “I don’t even want to put a title on it,” he said at the time. “I think it was more of a zone of limbo.” The “In My Blood” singer also revealed that he texted the Drop the Mic cohost after she secretly married Justin at a courthouse in September 2018. “I texted Hailey, ‘Congratulations,’ and I really am happy for them,” Mendes explained. She’s still one of the f–king coolest people ever — she’s not just a beautiful person visually, but she’s one of the most beautiful hearts I’ve ever met. … You can’t control your heart.” For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on YouTube! For the latest beauty and style trends, subscribe to our new podcast "Get Tressed With Us" below!