Before and after meth addiction: Jael Strauss, finalist of America's Next Top Model face change after six year meth addiction

Before and after meth addiction: Jael Strauss, finalist of America’s Next Top Model face change after six year meth addiction

Sep, 13, 2012 | AUTHOR: Starcasm Staff; | Related : America's Next Top Model, Dr. Phil McGraw, Jael Strauss

This story blows away all those “Faces of Meth” ads. Jael Strauss was on Cycle 8 of America’s Next Top Model a five years ago looking gorgeous, and now her face is ravaged by six-year meth, cocaine, and painkiller addiction (that’s right, she was using while on the show.) She unrecognizable now, and her family staged an intervention on Dr. Phil (which airs this morning.)

Another shocking fact? In her currently ravaged state, Jael is stripping to make money.

Here’s the preview:

When Jael was on America’s Next Top Model, one of her friends died of a drug overdose, which was probably a huge indication of some of the things Jael was struggling with. On Dr. Phil her mom reveals that she used to do cocaine with her daughter and her friends to be close to Jael.

At one point after Jael was deep into her painkiller and (at the time) suspected meth addiction, her mom flew out to L.A. to check on her, finding dirty clothes stacked up to her shoulders, a broken shower, sores all over Jael’s face, and broken teeth. She made a paste out of cocaine that she rubbed on her teeth to kill the pain.

She’s stripping, living in a seedy motel, and just basically falling apart. She ran out of Dr. Phil’s show when she saw him, but he went outside to talk to her (for the first time ever in the history of his show.) He brought up something that happened when she was 10, implying that it was sexual abuse. She tried to tell her family at the time, but they wouldn’t believe her, and turned on her.

Cari Dee English, winner of Cycle 7 of ANTM, posted a long comment about Jael and the show in Gawker’s comment section. Basically she chastised the show for not taking care of their contestants, and not helping the winners figure out to do to make a successful career for themselves.

Here’s some of what she said:

Tyra won’t do anything. She provided a wonderful platform for girls to have a chance at their dream, but, after there is no “Tyra Mail”. I had to guide myself, and even though I won a model competition I still had no idea what the modeling BUSINESS was like. I had no idea what the industry was really like. I was famous, but no one wanted to take my picture. And critics and industry love to give us all shit for not being the next big supermodel.

Read the rest of Cari’s comments here.

Hopefully Jael will use this opportunity to turn her life around. Do you think Tyra and/or the show producers owe the girls on this show more than they give them? It really does seem to be a game show with the ruse that you’ll get something bigger than winning, when winning is really all you get. Even so, it’s not their fault when someone already struggling with addiction gets worse after being on the show.

No items

jen

WOW i feel like an idiot cuz i have no idea, i mean i thought she was crazy on the show but i thought maybe it was part of her personality. she dosnt even look like the same girl at all. she was beautiful, now she looks like courtney loves wannabe.
jean

I remember watchin her and thinking she was on drugs. It was pretty obvious.
- Harper
  
  Yeah I remember thinking the same thing.
lalaloopsy

So sad. I hope they do an update & I hope she beats the disease. Addiction is no joke, especially when you’re that deep. I can proudly say I beat heroin, cocaine, & xanax addiction & am now 6 years clean, I feel her & her family’s pain.
- http://www.facebook.com/sarah.bonhamblomberg Sarah Bonham Blomberg
  
  Congrats!!! I wish you the best in your future
Ria

Get better, Jael.!! You’re such a great person and have such a sweet spirit. I am praying for you. This is really heartbreaking.
Sunny

Interesting what Cari posted about Tyra…I remember back to the first few seasons and Adrianne Curry was never invited back while the others were (for mentors, whatever), which was due to her calling Tyra out on completely disappearing and ignoring her calls when she always said she would be a support. Such a shame people go on shows like this and believe the bs fed to them – no regard for mental health, physical health, the “what happens next phase”….I stopped after season 4.
Lynn

At first I thought that there was no way Tyra would have been ignorant to a drug addicted contestant, using in the model house while being filmed 24/7, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that if Tyra had known she would’ve exploited the HELL out of it and out of Jael.

I hope she gets well. It is a terrible thing what she’s done to her face!
GiGi

LOL she looks like she’s 60! Face all pitted and gross. LOSER.
- http://www.facebook.com/sarah.bonhamblomberg Sarah Bonham Blomberg
  
  The girl is sick. You shouldn’t call her names.
Hildegunn Urdahl

I seriously hope they’ve made drug testing and mental evaluation far stricter on the show. While its not really the fault of ANTM… the show and the instant fame likely made the addiction far worse. That she even did drugs with her own mother and sexual abuse in childhood ++…wince. But well… in the end only Jael is responsible for Jael, and her choices are her own. (even if the choices of others may make it far harder).

I truly hope she manages to kick the habit though, and from there on get a decent life where she can be truly content and happy… rather than using a chemical faking the euphoria of being so.

When it comes to the responsibility of the show… While it gives a slightly skewed view of what the price really is… and the difference between being a ‘supermodel’ vs a ‘top model’… People still willingly choose to be on it and should therefore educate themselves a little better before applying. Given that the latest cycles seem to involve former girls, British, half boys ++… it may be that more are aware of it. Point is; few things truly comes for free; and expecting such a competition to give one everything on a silver platter… is not a very smart thing to do.
What the show should do is; firstly to have a stricter guideline for being allowed to be on the show… and keep a closer eyes on them so that ‘off’ behavior like Jael’s… is caught early on. Because if they realized during the show, and still kept her on for her personality… that would be exploitation at its worst and Jael and her family should sue for the damage it caused her (suing works in the US right?). And secondly to be more open about the reality of their own responsibility towards their career… that its not them becoming a super model – but rather just a top model with a tiny portfolio and very little experience.