Is Demelza the No 1 model?

By Jodie Minus
Updated November 5 2012 - 5:46pm, first published June 25 2008 - 12:16pm
Australia's Next Top Model hopeful Demelza Reveley
Australia's Next Top Model hopeful Demelza Reveley

First she was called too fat for the catwalk and now she's been criticised for "waifing away" from a drastic weight loss regime.But Australia's Next Top Model hopeful Demelza Reveley from Keiraville, just laughed at the issue surrounding her weight yesterday and said, fat or thin, she'll never please everyone."It's a juggling act, it really is," Demelza told the Mercury yesterday."There is always going to be somebody that thinks that you're imperfect, so it has not really bothered me in any way that people are having these sort of issues."Demelza, 16, is one of the final two contestants on the pay TV reality television series and will now face the public vote against Sydney's Alex Girdwood at a live final at Luna Park on Tuesday.Following criticism about being "bottom heavy" earlier in the series, Demelza embarked on a one hour a day, seven days a week, training session in which she has shaved almost 12cm off her hips since filming wrapped up two months ago.The weight loss was described as "dangerous" by NSW Premier Morris Iemma yesterday and fuelled morning talkback radio."It's not a drastic thing, it's not like I am a waif or anything like that," Demelza said."It's more about exercise. I haven't really changed my eating habits in any way, I always eat healthy and always have."I was happy with my body before but I knew if I wanted to stay in the competition and be in this sort of industry, that I would have to lose weight."But I understand why people are thinking that, I mean it is ridiculous that in this industry people think that a size eight is perfect and I think there should be more people that are average sizes, because the average size of a woman in Australia is a size 14."For the past two months Demelza has been attending classes at The Illawarra Grammar School while being supported in her modelling quest by her parents Andrew and Margaret, older sister Tanith and a close group of school friends.She spent Years 7 to 10 at St Mary Star of the Sea College but left at the end of last year because of a friendship breakdown, which she says led her to then bully fellow contestant Alamela Rowan, who fled in tears."I could understand completely how she was feeling and I just couldn't believe that I had turned around and gone and done what had happened to me," Demelza said.More on this story in Thursday's Mercury

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