Ben DiChiara, the prison guard from Nashville, Tennessee, was arguably the most improved model on this first season of Make Me A Supermodel. He came into the competition with little experience, and lacked the ease and comfort being in front of the camera or walking down the runway that some of his competitors enjoyed. However, he quickly became a fan favorite and made it all the way to the final vote.

Ben spoke to BuddyTV and assured us that he and his wife, April, are doing great together, despite being apart for three months. He plans to head back to New York as soon as April graduates from college to get started on his dream of becoming a model. Below you will find an audiofile and a complete transcript of the interview.

Hey everybody. This is Debbie at BuddyTV, and I'm talking to Ben from Make Me A Supermodel. So, I wanted to ask you, you had 12 long weeks on the show, and then you were finally standing in front of the judges for the last time, waiting to hear their verdict. What was that like?

Every time we were in front of the panel, it's a little intimidating because they know the results before we do. And so, it was a little nerve-wracking, but it wasn't that bad. At that point, you're either going to win or you're not going to win. I had my fingers crossed that I was going to win, but it didn't happen. It was the last one, you're last chance to say what you had to say. Once they told us that we didn't win, our last chance to express the thanks and gratitude that we had for the experience, and just think back on the past 12 weeks and look at the growth and look at the changes, and just reminisce on it for a little while. You get the feeling that some on the panel likes you more than the others and things like that. It was one last hoo-rah. It was a good experience.


You might have been the most improved model on the show, and so you should be really proud of yourself for that.

I felt as though I did improve the most because I had to play catch-up, you know. Some people were trying to do it for a number of years, and they were here with much more experience behind them than I had. Pretty much, when I came on the show, everything was brand new for me, so I had a lot of catching up to do, and I felt as though I did a great job doing that in the three months' time frame that I had. You know, I had some times when I back-slid a little bit, but in the end, I came out strong.


Had you always wanted to be a model?

Yeah. Actually, I wanted to be a model since I was in tenth grade. It was one of those things where education was more of a focus in my household, and I got into college. When me and my wife were dating, she always supported it. And I moved to Tennessee to follow her dream, and I just kind of put my dream on hold. I was with an agency, I was with a couple of agencies. Just kind of a thing that, I was there for her support, and my dreams, I could do that one day. You know, I wasn't too focused on it at the time. I got a good shot. I got a chance that people would love to have, and I'm very grateful for it.


When your wife came to visit in that final episode, things looked a little bit strained between you. Was there anything going on?

Oh, there's nothing. You know, imagine being away from someone that you love for an extended period of time. You know, especially in our case, she has seen what I've done every week, and I hadn't really gotten to talk to her that much. So, it was not awkward, it was just... I don't know. I was expecting panel to come or something like that. I wasn't expecting my wife to be at that door because she had school and she had things that she needed to do. So, no, there's nothing at all, bad blood or anything. I love her very much. She's coming to New York with me when I move here. She's my biggest support, and she's my biggest fan.


That's good to hear. And what's the one thing that you'll take away from your experience?

The one thing that I'll take away from this is just, you know, it was a model boot camp, and I've learned a lot in these past three months that would have taken years to have learned. Everything about the business that I've learned and the connections that I've made, it was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You can't put a price on it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.


What's next for you? Are you going back to the prison?

No. I will go back to the jail to say good-bye to everybody before I move to New York. What's next for me is to go back to Nashville, put my house up for sale, go back and forth to New York to find out what works out there and things like that, and wait for my wife to graduate. She's in her last semester of college, so she'll be done with it in May, and then we're coming to New York. And she just wants to be with me and I want her to be there and I want to be with her. It's going to be great.


Great. That sounds awesome. Best of luck to you in the future, and we hope to see great things from you, Ben.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

-Interview conducted by Debbie Chang
(Image courtesy of Bravo)