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.
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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.
"Jourdan, you're amazing! I wanted a boy to win so bad, but you killed it on that runway. And then when I was photographing you, it was undeniable. You are strong, you are beautiful, you have a story that so many girls can relate to. You can take a higher percentage of good pictures than I can... You have it," Tyra told Jourdan upon her victory.
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.
"I can't believe that I'm America's Next Top Model. I'm going to have to keep saying it over and over and over and over. I'm probably not going to sleep tonight. I'm a Guess girl and I'm in Nylon Magazine and I just won $100,000! This means so much to me," Jourdan explained.
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"This time last year, I was packing my things and moving away from [an abusive] situation that was very unsafe for me. And now, I'm standing here! This has been such a long journey. I have grown into a completely new woman. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, life does get better, and I just won America's Next Top Model! This has been the hardest but most incredible year of my entire life."
Top Model: Guys & Girls' finale broadcast picked up right where the prior week's episode had left off, with Tyra revealing which two finalists would walk in the runway show and still be in the running for the season's title. Jourdan, Marvin and Cory Hindorff, a 6' 2 1/2" 22-year-old wedding singer from Philadelphia, PA, were judged based upon their performance in the Guess photo shoot.
Jourdan received a total score of 32, which included a 6.0 fan vote, two 9's from Tyra and Rob, and a score of 8 from Kelly.
Marvin earned a total score of 27.5. He received an 8 from both Tyra and Rob, a 7 from Kelly, and a 4.5 fan vote.
Cory was automatically eliminated prior to the runway show with a total score of 26.6. In addition to receiving a 10 from Tyra, a 5 from Kelly and a 7 from Rob, he racked in a 4.6 fan vote. Although he was ousted from the competition, he still got to walk in the runway show with the other previously-eliminated Top Model contestants.
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Prior to the season's last panel, Jourdan and Marvin participated in one last photo shoot in Bali for which Tyra served as the photographer. They modeled in front of a large tree and had to be "one with nature."
After the judges deliberated on Jourdan and Marvin's entire body of work -- including the final runway show and photo shoot with Tyra, the contestants' Nylon spread and Guess photo shoot -- the winner of Top Model was determined.
Jourdan was declared the season's winner by Tyra, however the final scores which were displayed on-screen for Jourdan and Marvin appeared to be the exact same scores that were shown at the elimination which resulted in Cory's ouster.
Jourdan's overall score, once again, displayed a 32. Marvin's overall score, again, was 27.50. Mirroring the results at the beginning of the broadcast, Jourdan received a 9 from both Tyra and Rob, an 8 from Kelly, and a 6.0 fan vote. Marvin received an 8 from both Tyra and Rob, a 7 from Kelly, and a 4.5 fan vote.
In addition, the inclusion of a fan vote score appeared to directly conflict with Tyra's statement that "no challenge or social media score" would be part of the final numbers moments just before the scores were revealed.
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The CW did not immediately respond when contacted about the apparent discrepancy by Reality TV World.
"I feel honestly like that one kid that got the shot that he never thought he would get. I didn't think kids like me get chances, and I was always so skeptical. But the fact that I'm standing right here next to Jourdan and she's great, and then I'm standing here in front of Kelly, [Bryanboy], Rob, Tyra -- this just proves to me 100% that there's a chance for everybody, no matter how bad your story is, there's light at the end of the tunnel. And this is, literally, my light," Marvin said after the results were revealed.
"I didn't win, but it came down very, very close. I feel like I did accomplish a lot. I definitely feel like I've grown a lot, and I feel like, with time, I'm going to be a supermodel. I know I'm going to win in the future in my life. I'm just going to keep at it. I would never in a million years change this experience. I know my Dad's proud of me. I'm going out happy and I just can't wait for the future because I know it's looking bright for me."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski