Meaghan happy to finally reveal she’s Canada’s Next Top Model
Thursday, July 16 at 9:00 AM ET
Sheri Block, CTV.ca
After keeping the biggest secret of her life for more than three months, Meaghan Waller is just happy she can finally let everyone know she’s Canada’s Next Top Model.
And that includes her mom and dad.
“My mom and dad had no clue, which was really hard because me and my mom are pretty close,” says Meaghan.
The 19-year-old returned home to Winnipeg, Man., after the production of CNTM wrapped up in Toronto in April, but couldn’t spill any details of the outcome until Tuesday night, when she was officially named the winner on the season finale of Cycle 3.
Jay speaks to Meaghan after her win.
“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m so happy that it’s not just me that knows now,” says Meaghan, who received a contract with Elmer Olsen Model Management, a $100,000 contract with P&G and an editorial spread in FASHION Magazine.
Flown back to Toronto to prepare for a full day of press interviews after her win, Meaghan watched the finale at a private screening. But back home in Winnipeg, her parents invited 100 people over to their home to watch and see whether their daughter would come out on top.
“My mom said people from all over the block kept walking down to our house just to pop in and say hi,” says Meaghan.
She had her family on speakerphone during the final moments of the episode when it came down to her and runner-up, 22-year-old Linsay Willier from Edmonton, Alta., at the final elimination.
“When the winner was announced all you could hear was a roar of everybody just cheering. It was really nice,” she says.
“They were just so proud of me. My boyfriend said my mom and dad were both bawling their eyes out and I’ve never seen my dad cry before. It brought tears to my eyes.”
Meaghan admits that she was very nervous watching the events of the final moments play out.
“It was just totally surreal watching it. I still can’t believe it’s all over and it’s happened and everything.”
With no previous modeling experience, Meaghan always described herself as “completely green” during the competition and says being on CNTM was an invaluable experience.
“It was model bootcamp. It threw you in there and put you through the ups, the downs and everything (but) I survived.”
Now that it’s official, Meaghan will immediately begin her new career. She will be attending Elmer Olsen’s Bootcamp 2 Bigtime with top international agents this week, and will have two major photo shoots – one for FASHION Magazine and the other for Capezio shoes. Her ad for CoverGirl Exact Eyelights, which was shot by judge and photographer Mike Ruiz during the competition, will be released in August.
Meaghan is not sure what will happen next or whether a move to Toronto is in her future but she plans to return home for a while to get things in order.
“I’ve just kind of been thrown into the whole situation,” says Meaghan with a laugh.
That being said, she is more than ready to get things going and has her sights set on London, Milan and Paris. And that’s just to start.
“I would love to take over for Irina (Lazareanu) and be Karl Lagerfeld’s muse. Shoot with Steven Meisel, all those things,” says Meaghan with a smile.
“I’m so excited and am taking every opportunity that comes my way.”