America's Next Top Model crowned female model Jourdan Miller the twentieth season's winner during The CW's Friday night finale broadcast of the first-ever Guys & Girls edition.
 
Jourdan, a 6' 0" unemployed 19-year-old from Bend, OR, defeated runner-up Marvin Cortes, a 6' 1" 20-year-old sales associate from Bronx, NY, after Top Model judges Tyra Banks, Kelly Cutrone and Rob Evans evaluated and scored both contestants' entire body of work throughout the course of the season. Contestant Cory Hindorff finished in third place.

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As the winner of America's Next Top Model, Jourdan walked away with a $100,000 national ad campaign with Guess, a fashion feature in Nylon Magazine and a modeling contract with Next Model Management.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Tuesday, Jourdan talked about her Top Model: Guys & Girls experience and victory. Below is the concluding portion of Jourdan's interview. Click here to read the first half.     

Reality TV World: In the final photo shoot you had with Tyra in front of the tree in Bali, what was it like working with Tyra versus the other professional photographers you had throughout the season? Was it more nerve-wracking because she basically held your fate in the competition or were you actually more comfortable with her?

Jourdan Miller: I would have to say that I was more comfortable with Tyra, probably because she did my makeup before the photo shoot, so we also had some time to just goof around with her and just break the ice before it got too serious. And she gave amazing direction. She would tell me like, "Oh, hold it, hold it, hold it! That's good, that's perfect!"

And then something would happen to the camera and she'd have to fix it, but whatever I was doing, she was like, "Oh don't move! Don't move. Once we get the camera going, we're going to take that shot." So it was just awesome and amazing to have her be so excited about shooting me and the poses I was doing and just her overall energy at the photo shoot. It was just a lot of fun.

Reality TV World: Until Mike Scocozza switched over to your side because he wanted to win $1,000, the only person in your catwalk crew was Chris Hernandez. Some of the guys thought Chris just selfishly joined your team because he'd stand out since no one else was on it -- not because he really supported you or was friends with you. Why do you think he joined your catwalk crew?

Jourdan Miller: You know, that is a tough situation because, in the very beginning, I was pissed off. I was like, "Oh Gosh, yeah, Chris only wants to be on my team because he thinks it's going to get him more TV time or he's just doing it because nobody wants to be on my team."

But then after having some side conversation with him, he told me he's no longer in the competition and it doesn't matter. He believed in my modeling skills and what I could do and that I could win this. That alone just had me humbled and, you know, allowed me to have a lot more respect for him.

And to this day, Chris and I have a different relationship. We tweet each other here and there and just keep in contact to see what we're up to. But you know, initially, I was very suspicious of him for choosing my team, but in the end, I was just glad to have somebody who had my back.

Reality TV World: You seemed surprised when Jeremy Rohmer didn't join your team. While you guys seemed pretty close towards the beginning of the season, it looked like you had a couple fights and maybe a falling out before he was eliminated. So why did it come as a surprise he didn't pick you? Any hard feelings toward him now?

Jourdan Miller: I thought that Jeremy was going to choose me because I thought he thought I could win, but you know, when it came down to the end, a lot of the contestants just chose who they were really good friends with.

And I didn't spend a lot of time getting to know the other contestants besides [Nina Burns] and Cory, and so, I think there was a lack of relationship, so people didn't want to hurt the other finalists' feelings if they chose who they really thought was going to win.

So when it came down to it, I think that Jeremy just chose Marvin because they were really good friends. They were roommates, they were sleeping in the same room, so I'm sure that they had a lot of male bonding time.

To this day, I don't really keep in contact with Jeremy, but when the show was on the air for awhile, he would send a text message and be like, "I hope that you don't hate me!" And I'm like, "Oh, no worries. I don't hate you at all."

So I think that after the show, all the contestants just made amends with each other for all the stuff we said that could've been potentially hurtful and, you know, I think that everybody just has a sense of family after the show's over.

Reality TV World: You mentioned during the finale you had a lot of demons to battle with going onto the show and you felt you weren't just a pretty face, as you've been through a lot in life. Could you elaborate on that a little? Were you referring mainly to the abusive relationship you were in with your ex-husband, because that was a pretty prominent storyline this season.

Jourdan Miller: Right. I think that I'm not just a pretty face because, yeah, I have been through some tough things in life. And that's not to say that anybody else hasn't, but that's just my story and my experience.

I have modeled before, and so, that was another thing that goes along with that, is that I'm not just some girl wanting to be a model for the first time. This is me chasing after something that I know I want. It's something I've experienced and tasted before, and I want to go after it.

Reality TV World: What's the status of your relationship now with the boyfriend you had on the show? If you're still together, do you see an engagement happening in the near future?

Jourdan Miller: Yeah, so, we are still together and things are going really, really good. I'm not sure what is ahead in the future. I'm not going to think about it because it's not really what I'm focused on right now. I'm focused on my career.

But yeah, I'm actually very grateful and thankful to still be able to go through everything I have with a Top Model competition and come out and still have my same friends and family and still have the same person who loves me and supports me.

And you know, a lot of people don't know this, but he's the reason I made it down to my initial casting. I was trying to talk myself out of it and I was really nervous, and he was like, "You know what? I've never seen you light up like you do when you talk about modeling. I think you should go down and just try, and if they say no, they say no. But you have nothing to lose. Just go put your high heels on, get in the car and go down there."

So I did and it was just his words of like, "You can do this," that really gave me that jumpstart into believing in myself again, because that was something I had lost. I had no self-esteem and I didn't believe in myself until I made it onto Top Model.

That's when I was like, "You know what? I can do this." And that was very empowering for me, and I think that was the biggest lesson learned, is becoming a strong woman and becoming myself and just seeing myself and not being afraid of the judgement...

Above is the concluding portion of Jourdan Miller's exclusive interview with Reality TV World. Click here to read the first half.  


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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