'Duh, men are trash.' EmRata's message to those who think she was too 'perfect' to be cheated on.

Remember when the news broke that Emily Ratajkowski was splitting up with her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, because he had been cheating on her?

Remember the conversations that followed?

They were the ones that questioned why or how someone like EmRata could be cheated on."If she gets cheated on, then what is the hope for the rest of us?" was the echo whacking its way around social media. "How could someone like her get cheated on?"

Now, a year after her divorce, Ratajkowski has answered that question with one statement: "Duh, men are trash."

Watch: Emily Ratajkowski discusses not being a girly-girl and funny women in Hollywood. Post continues after video.

The model and author admitted the public response to her divorce news was intriguing to her – and certainly not what she expected. 

"It was so interesting that was the reaction to that news, because I was just like, 'Duh, men are trash, ladies.' It doesn't matter who you are or how 'perfect' you are."

This came up in a wider conversation Ratajkowski had with Eileen Kelly on her podcast Going Mental. The two discussed divorce, optics, relationships and mental health, with the model sharing that separation had a bigger effect on her health than she anticipated. 

"I didn't have the courage to leave for a long time," she said of her marriage on the podcast. "I was really, really unhappy. I was 100 pounds and I had just had a baby. I got really skinny because I was not OK."

Ratajkowski shared that she had tried everything else, "including antidepressants, meditation and therapy" in an attempt to make herself feel better. But she couldn't shake the sense that "something was wrong with me."

"I think so much of what I've learned, coming out of that relationship, is to trust your instincts. And gaslighting is a real thing," she said. 

Eventually leaving her marriage was a huge mental move to make for Ratajkowski, who explains that "every piece of media" encourages the idea of finding a life partner that "completes and validates you." And, of course, she had just welcomed her son into the world – adding a bucket load of guilt to her shoulders. 

"I just really wanted to have that family and whatever. So it was especially hard for me to totally walk away."

Listen to this episode of Mamamia Out Loud. Post continues after podcast. 

While she's back on the dating scene now – spotted with BDE founder himself, Pete Davidson, and spending Valentine's Day with comedian Eric Andre – Ratajkowski has been quick to confirm her status as a retired "pick me girl".

If you've read that and gone, 'pardon, excuse me, what?!' then let us explain.

'Pick Me Girls' are labelled as such for being a girl who seeks male validation by indirectly or directly insinuating that she is “not like the other girls”. The term hit its prime last year and with its rise, crowned EmRata as the unofficial ambassador. 

Now Ratajkowski is addressing it all, admitting that she had previously "abandoned my own priorities in order to be loved or to be chosen," both romantically and professionally.

"I was appealing to a lot of powerful men, essentially," she said. "I just totally abandoned my own boundaries and my own ideas of what is important." 

But now she's flipped her perspective. 

As a newly retired 'pick me girl', Ratajkowski has put in the time to build the life she wants and needs without the presence of a dude. In fact, now she's unsure if there will ever be room for that sort of energy again.

"I'm super-grounded in [my boundaries] now. I have basically curated my life exactly to how I want it to be. It's almost hard to imagine somebody coming in and being additive and bringing things to the table."

Image: Mamamia.