Content warning: Discussion of domestic violence.
Former America's Next Top Model contestant Angelea Preston opened up about her disqualification from Season 17 in a new interview with Bustle.
For context, Angelea competed in cycles 12 and 14, before coming back for Season 17's All Stars season in 2011. At the time, the reason for her disqualification in the latter wasn't given — other than it being related to "information from Angelea" learned after production wrapped.
A couple of years later, in 2014, Angelea told TMZ that she'd actually won Season 17 — but she was disqualified because she'd worked as an escort, leading the finale to be reshot. Lisa D’Amato was then named the series' winner.
Now, Angelea is speaking about her experience. In her words, "This one moment has been following me for a decade, and people really want to know what happened.”
The former contestant explained how, after filming the first two seasons, she was struggling to get work while living in New York. It was then that she met a man identified in the article as "T," who approached her while she was walking in Queens.
T then introduced her to two of his friends, who would go on non-sexual "dates" in exchange for money and luxury items. “It was too good to be true, but I still went along with it,” she said.
However, it was when T flew Angelea and the women to North Carolina that she realized she'd made a mistake — but not many people knew where she was and she didn't have the money for a flight back. “I didn’t want to tell [my family] that I’d gotten myself into a situation with this guy and now need[ed] money to get back home,” she explained.
Then, in Florida, Angelea said that T turned violent after she refused to have sex for money. “He opened my side of the door, and all of a sudden I felt a boom on the left side of my face,” she recalled. “[T] just punched me, and he broke the designer glasses I had on.” She said that this was one assault of many, and a reason why she didn't leave.
One of Angelea's friends then reached out to cycle 14 winner Krista White while Angelea was in Vegas with T to try and get her to leave. Krista herself tried to arrange for Angelea to leave, but she said that she wasn't yet ready. Subsequently Krista alleged that she contacted people involved with AMTM — including stylists, Tyra Banks' assistants, and even Tyra herself — but that no one helped.
Angelea was eventually able to get out when she travelled with T to Long Island. However, it wasn't easy: “This is going to sound so stupid, but a part of me wanted to go back because I was so infatuated with him.”
Months afterwards, the ANTM producers reached out to see if Angelea would be open to All Stars. She then said that in a conversation with talent producer talent Michelle Mock, her time as an escort was mentioned. “Up until this point, I didn’t know if Krista’s call had even reached anyone,” she recalled. “So when Michelle mentioned it, I realized someone higher up did know what was going on with me, and did nothing.”
Angelea said that she denied it, as she was "literally at rock bottom," but a subsequent conversation with Michelle and another member of the show's team led her to believe that people were aware. “To my understanding, she knew what happened, but she wasn’t going to say anything to anyone else,” Angelea said.
After filming the final, Michelle and another executive producer asked her again about "rumors" from another contestant. “They asked me to be honest with them so they could protect me because I was the winner,” Angelea recalled. “So I was.” It was shortly after this that Angelea said that she was told that her her win was being revoked by Tyra and executive producer Ken Mok.
Angelea further said that network attorney Andy Wong told her, "You know, Angelea, you have no one to blame but yourself. You did this to yourself.”
Angelea ended up suing, in part for the lost prize money and employment opportunities, but dropped the suit in 2018. “I realized I wasn’t going to win,” she said. “I didn’t get any money from it. The only good thing that happened [was that] people knew I was the winner.”
As for how Angelea is now, she graduated with a degree in journalism last year from Buffalo State College and now works as a Sunday host on NPR’s WBFO in her hometown.
You can read the full profile with Bustle here.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.