Tyra Banks Also Lost Home In L.A. Wildfires
Tyra Banks, the legendary model and TV personality, has opened up about losing her home in the devastating L.A. wildfires. During an emotional appearance on the Australian breakfast show Sunrise on Monday, the 51-year-old shared the difficult news while discussing the impact of the fires on her loved ones.
“Some are doing okay, some are not doing so great,” Tyra said about her family and friends. When asked if she personally knew anyone who had lost their home, she revealed, “I’m one of them. I lost my house.”
Tyra admitted she hadn’t spoken about it before. “I just didn’t want to pull a lot of attention to me, I feel that there’s a lot of people that need that attention, so I haven’t really talked about it, but I can’t sit here and not tell the truth, so yeah we lost our house,” she explained.
The America’s Next Top Model star was in Australia with her boyfriend, Louis Bélanger-Martin, when they received the heartbreaking news. “We were celebrating and just having fun. I kept checking my phone, not for my house, but just for friends and family. I was just making sure they were evacuating and everything,” she recalled.
When she finally noticed updates about her own home, she turned to Louis for confirmation. “I asked him, ‘I’m seeing something here. What do you think?’ And he said [she nods],” she said.
Despite the devastation, Tyra kept her composure in the moment. According to her, she pulled it together and “didn’t say anything to my friends.”
I just stayed in that moment. Then we went home and we cried. We had our moment,” she shared.
While her property was destroyed, Tyra found comfort in knowing that many of her sentimental items were safe, as she said they had many mementos in Australia or New York. “So, I didn’t lose those thank goodness,” she expressed relief.
The L.A. wildfires, which started on January 7, have wreaked havoc across the region. Thousands remain under evacuation orders, and the death toll has risen to 27, according to a recent update from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Tyra joins a growing list of celebrities who have lost their homes in the fires, including Anna Faris, Leighton Meester, Cary Elwes, Ricki Lake, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
