Meth Addiction Takes Hold Of Former America’s Next Top Model Contestant

Sadly, today Talent Management heard news that aspiring model Jael Strauss has been battling with a methamphetamine addition for a staggering 6 years since leaving ANTM.

Some years ago, the team at Talent Management remembers tuning in to watch Cycle 8 of America’s Next Top Model – it was the series set in Sydney, Australia with the promotional tagline ‘Welcome To The Jungle, Ladies’. Not only do we remember the winner, Jaslene Gonzalez, who became the first Puerto Rican model to win the title, but we also remember a then 22-year-old Jael Strauss.

Sadly, today Talent Management heard news that the aspiring model has been battling with a methamphetamine addition for a staggering 6 years since leaving the modelling reality show.

Now 28, Jael’s family says she’s losing her battle with the drug addiction which has ravaged her striking looks by rotting her teeth and leaving her with a body covered in sores.

The once stunning short-haired blonde, who placed sixth in America’s Next Top Model, became a memorable contestant after her friend died of a drug overdose while Jael was in the competition.

Jael Strauss in Cycle 8 of America's Next Top Model (second from left)
Jael Strauss in Cycle 8 of America's Next Top Model (second from left)

Remaining in the show, she dedicated her photo that week to her dead friend and later said in an interview: “There was never, never a question in my mind to leave the competition. My friend is gone and I am still here living life to the fullest.”

Unfortunately, while her family says that experiencing her friend’s overdose ‘really shook her’, it was not enough to dissuade her from drugs.

These sad revelations have been exposed on Dr. Phil, a talk show hosted by clinical psychologist Phil McGraw, in what the model’s family said was a last ditch attempt to reach out to the troubled addict who now lives on the streets.

However, on the episode, which airs tomorrow, “the full blown meth addict” seems to oppose all help as we see her physically resist being placed on the Dr Phil stage on this trailer uploaded by the programme’s producers.

Let’s hope that her family and Dr. Phil are able to convince her to stop running and commit to getting well.