Lily Aldridge says Taylor Swift is a great friend because she always has her ''back''.

The Victoria's Secret Angel and the pop superstar are BFFs and are part of a bigger group of pals that includes Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid and Cara Delevingne.

Lily feels very lucky to have such a ''close-knit group'' of female friends who are all supportive of each other and earn their livings in similar ways.

In an interview with NET-A-PORTER's weekly digital fashion magazine The EDIT, Lily said: ''Taylor just loves her friends, and so do I. My girls are my girls. We're such a close-knit group of women, and the most special thing about our group of friends - and it extends so far - is that we all have each other's backs. It's about supporting and being happy for each other. When you lift up the people around you, it elevates you as well. Bringing everybody up is the way I hope the whole world changes.''

Lily relies on the reassurance of her friends when she gets sent abuse by trolls on social media.

The supermodel - who has three-year-old daughter Dixie with her husband, Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill - reads most of the messages she is sent Twitter and Instagram and is often stunned by the hateful and hurtful things people choose to post.

She said: ''People say such mean things to me on Instagram, and I'm like, 'I see this! I read every comment!' They're so hurtful. You see it and think, 'Why would you say that to anyone?' It's heart breaking that people say these kinds of things to each other. It blows my mind ... I try to be authentic and post pictures of myself and my job. I keep my family stuff as private as possible, but there are some things that I want to post, like a cute picture of my daughter that's too precious not to share.''

The EDIT's Wild Thing Issue is available now and to read the full interview with Lily Aldridge go to www.net-a-porter.com or download The EDIT's free app for iPhone and iPad.