“I Didn’t Give Up – Not Once!” – An Interview With America’s Next Top Model 3’s Nicole

With so many other strong personalities this season, it was hard for Nicole to really stand out. Besides her fiery red hair, there isn’t much else to remember her for, except for the fact that the judges forgot her. In this interview, Nicole discusses what she could have done to stick out more, if she even wanted to stick out more, and if she thinks modeling is really what she wants to do. Find out the answers right here!

RealityNewsOnline: What happened, Nicole? It took nine episodes to finally get to know you, and then you are leaving! Where were you the whole time?

Nicole: I was staying out of the drama since it didn’t appeal to me! We didn’t have a lot of time for sleeping, so when we weren’t at a shoot or a challenge, I was catching up on some sleep, and I guess they didn’t find that very interesting.

RNO:Did Tyra really forget you at the elimination ceremony or was that just an act?

Nicole: Honestly, I just think she wasn’t able to see me. I was in a really awkward place, and Yaya was blocking me. The camera had a really good shot of me, but from where Tyra was standing, she probably had some trouble seeing me, but in her mind, I’m thinking I was already gone.

RNO: You said you didn't want to put your personality on display to be "picked to pieces," do you see that as a mistake now? p>

Nicole: Yes and no. I say yes because it didn’t serve me at all, but at the same time, if people really want to get to know me, I’m all for that. I’m very easy to talk to, and I’m not this enigma that can’t be solved – I’m very personable!

RNO:I remember when I first read your profile and it listed your occupation as a “former punk rocker.” To this day, I have no idea what that is. Could you explain?

Nicole: What DOES that mean? I’m in the same boat as you! I grew up in the punk rock lifestyle, but as I grew up, I realized that being punk rock isn’t something I have to show at all times, and can still dress how I want and look how I want yet still believe in what other punk rockers do. I’m more informed now, and when they say it was my occupation, I just think they mean I was a stereotype, but threw it off myself.

RNO: What do you think you could or should have done differently to stick out more?

Nicole: I should have brought my sarcastic sense of humor to the panel. I wouldn’t be rude, but actually, I would say that I was too polite at times, overly polite! If I had something controversial to say, I wouldn’t, simply for the fact that it was inappropriate. Oh well though!

RNO: What kind of critiques were you given by the judges before your elimination?

Nicole: Basically, I was told that it looked like I had given up and simply did the commercial because I had to do a commercial and was nothing extraordinary. The whole thing seemed scripted, but I don’t think it was. I didn’t give up – not once. I fought with the judges when they said I was giving up, but that wasn’t shown. Don’t ask me why.

RNO: What was your experience in Tokyo like? Would you ever want to live there?

Nicole: I loved Tokyo, but wouldn’t want to live there simply for the fact that I have studied other cultures and would like to experience other places first. Tokyo is very beautiful and the culture is rich, and I would love to visit again. However, I’d love to live in Italy, or even Jamaica, where we did our other shoot!

RNO: Do you think it was fair that you only had a half hour to learn to perfectly speak part of another language? It could take people years to perfectly speak another language!

Nicole: Yes, and especially since it was Japanese, which is one of the hardest languages to learn. I wanted to take it in high school, but I was a senior and a teacher of mine said it could take some five to ten years to speak it easily. I took three years of French in high school, and picked it up easily. Japanese was very extreme though, but still a lot of fun to get to learn something new.