Culture & Entertainment
Love Island USA season 7 breakout star, Olandria Carthen, is sharing some insight into her personal life. The self-proclaimed "Bama Barbie" has had fans glued to her every move on the popular reality dating show and even more so now that she's out of the villa.
From red carpets to runways, Olandria keeps blowing us away, and the Nicolandria (Olandria's and boyfriend Nic Vansteenberghe's name put together) fandom just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Recently, the model was getting ready for the Off-White show during NYFW and opened up about wanting to be a good example for others. "A lot of people use me as their role model in today's age. I guess with knowing me in the media. I just had big dreams. Small town girl with big dreams, and just followed her dreams. Always believed in herself," she told Vanity Fair.
Olandria also revealed that she was born to teen parents. However, that has motivated her to be the best person she can for herself and others.
"I truly felt like growing up, with me having parents that had me in the 10th grade, obviously, I was a mistake. There's no question about that. I was not planned at all," she explained. "But I always told myself I want to be like the best mistake my parents ever made. So I think that really pushed me to be the best person I can actually be, and especially knowing that siblings are looking up to me and things like that."
She added, "I could say like it was points in my life where I felt like I have more reasons to give up than to keep going. But in those moments in time, I just keep reminding myself, like you know what, you know where you come from, try to be better than that. I think that just keeps me going for the most part."
The Tuskegee University alum also dished on her newfound fame. "Very first fashion week. Honestly, I've been having a blast," she said. "It's weird walking into these rooms and all these people know my name, wanna take pictures. The fashion industry is just welcoming me with open arms and it's a beautiful thing to be a part of."
Olandria is the eldest daughter and has two younger sisters. She calls her mom her best friend and Love Island fans got to see a glimpse of their relationship during family day in the villa.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Shawn Salley/Shutterstock
ALSO ON XONECOLE