“It made me think a lot about how much we hide behind caring what people think.”
Kiwi model Rachel Hunter is starring on this season of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. Photo / Channel 10
Following her mother’s death, Hunter sold her Los Angeles home and began travelling extensively, including spending months in India studying yoga and meditation while living with few possessions.
She said the stripped-back lifestyle had helped prepare her for the physical and mental demands of the reality series, which is filmed in the South African jungle.
“I’m used to living in very rural areas, not really having everything at my fingertips,” Hunter said.
Hunter had previously declined offers to appear on the UK version of I’m A Celebrity, she said, but felt compelled to accept the Australian invitation despite uncertainty about how the decision might be received.
“I know it will put me in the public eye again. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’ll be an absolute s*** decision. But why not try it?”
The New Zealand model rose to international fame after she was approached on a beach as a teenager and encouraged to consider modelling.
Moving to New York City at 17 for career opportunities, Hunter later met British musician Rod Stewart, whom she married in 1990.
The pair had two children together over the following years, Renée and Liam, before separating in January 1999.
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