When Kayla Ferrel first appeared on Cycle 15 of “America’s Next Top Model,” she was trying so hard to do well, she forgot to have fun.

This time around as an “All-Star,” she just wanted to enjoy herself, but as a result, she was less focused on the competition and was eliminated.

But the 20-year-old from Rockford, Ill., tells CTV.ca she has no regrets.

“This time I was a lot more relaxed with it… even though I stayed longer for Cycle 15 I can honestly say that I had 10 times the amount of fun this cycle than (last time),” says Kayla over the phone.

She was sent home, along with fellow “All-Star” Bianca Golden in a special double elimination, after Tyra Banks and the other judges thought Kayla wasn’t bringing as much to the competition as she previously had and was “melting away.”

“I can kind of see where they’re coming from… the first time around I had never really modeled before and I always wanted to. It was my biggest dream and to actually make it on the show, I was fighting tooth and nail… and the second time around I told myself I’m not going to stress myself out.”

Even with this different approach, Kayla was praised by the “ANTM” judges throughout the competition for her strong photos.

“I think it’s not necessarily just about the photos, it’s about your overall performance at the shoot,” says Kayla. “I might have pulled out a strong shot but maybe Mr. Jay (Manuel) told Tyra, ‘I don’t think her energy was where it needed to be.’”

Kayla says during the long hours on set she was not eating properly and drinking a lot of energy drinks, and when combined with the medication she was taking for an old neck injury, may have contributed to her getting violently ill one evening and landing in the emergency room.

“When you’re mixing Red Bull and medication and you’re going for (up to) nine hours, it starts to take a toll on your body and especially someone like me, who (has a heart condition) and isn’t necessarily 100 per cent healthy, I think my body was telling me right there you need to slow down.”

She says she doesn’t remember much about that night -- and purposefully didn’t watch the episode when it aired on TV.

“It was scary but at the same time it was kind of weird how it brought all of the girls together. Everybody was there for me; Laura came to the hospital with me. When I came home everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, we missed you.’”

Despite the positive experience she had on “All-Stars,” Kayla admits it was a really hard decision to come back to “ANTM.”

On Cycle 15, Kayla revealed many personal things about herself, including being candid on how she had come out as a lesbian in the 10th grade, how she was raised by a single mother without much money and had to sleep on the floor, and how she was sexually assaulted when she was 11 years old. 

“It brings out all your dirty laundry. I didn’t really know if I wanted to (do it again) but then I thought about it like, ‘Well your dirty laundry is already out there, you might as well go again,’” she says with a laugh.

In between her two appearances on “ANTM,” Kayla devoted much of her time to public speaking and sharing her personal stories.

Although she is still interested in modeling -- she is currently signed as an international model in Japan -- she wants to focus on going back to school.

“I don’t know exactly where I want to go with a degree but I want to do something in the LBGT (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender) area, I want to do something maybe with law that has to do with fighting for people’s rights. I want to do something bigger than modeling,” says Kayla.

“I feel like in our society everybody admires models, celebrities and actresses but the people I feel really need to be looked up to are our doctors and our lawyers and people who are really putting something out there that is helping people and I want to go more towards that.”

The next episode of “America’s Next Top Model” airs Thursday, Nov. 3 at 9 ET/PT on CTV Two. Full episodes are also available online at CTV.ca.
 

About Sheri Block

Sheri Block has been covering entertainment for CTV.ca since 2008. In addition to covering Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding in London, Sheri’s highlights have included going on tour with “Canadian Idol,” being a stand-in on “Canada’s Next Top Model” and meeting Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival.Follow her on Twitter!