She’s no longer America Next Top Model.
Now, 21-year-old CariDee English is simply ready to be a model.
First, she sat down with Entertainment Weekly.
EW:So, a natural blonde finally won. About time, right?
CE: Yes! Absolutely. Ahhh! I don’t even know how to explain it, you know? It’s just euphoric. I love it.
EW: I loved how you declared, ”This is mine!” after Eugena got eliminated. Hey, confidence!
CE: That was the first time it actually hit me that I could win, you know? What got me through the competition was not thinking about the ultimate outcome, just thinking about the next step. I didn’t want to think too hard.
EW: Was it more motivating to compete against someone who wasn’t your close friend in the final two?
CE: Eugena and I had made a pact at that time that we wanted someone who was down-to-earth to win, someone we’d gotten close to. I mean, if I was able to get close to Melrose, I would’ve, but we both knew we were such stiff competition with each other, so it was gonna be very, very hard for us to get along. I wanted to be myself, someone you could get a clear read on.
It’s not that I wanted to win for the other girls, but I wanted to show that a girl who’s been true to herself can come on top.
EW: Did you feel like you didn’t get to know the ”real” Melrose? Or was it that you did, and you all just weren’t havin’ it?
CE: She was very headstrong in the competition, which is very understandable. That’s just her….I didn’t want the win handed to me. I wanted to win knowing I was the best. I had no idea until the final picture got brought up. But she definitely was the best competitor, because she was good. She’s very talented at what she does. I mean, we were good to each other. We weren’t rude or hated each other by any means.
THG NOTE: The same cannot be said for Lindsay Lohan and Lindsay Ratowski
EW: What happened with Melrose’s dress? You didn’t mean to tear that, and she freaked out hard.
CE: Oh, no, absolutely not. She freaked out because she’s a fashion designer herself. So she was just really concerned about the clothes, which I thought was ridiculous. I was like ”Honey, this happens all the time.”
EW: What’s it like not living in a house with floor-to-ceiling photos of [Tyra Banks]? She’s so Bankable!
CE: I miss that. I love Tyra! She doesn’t take herself too seriously, which is so refreshing in the modeling world. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be talking to you. I’d be back in Fargo doing God knows what.
EW: What’s up next for you?
CE: I’m moving to New York, and I’m gonna live in the Elite models’ house. Because I’m an Elite model, which is awesome! I want to take [the title] America’s Next Top Model to the next level. Commercials, high fashion, everything … I’m going to try, try, try. I know Tyra believes in me.
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