Rachel Hunter says caring for her dying mother in 2017 pushed her to live on her own terms.
Rachel Hunter says caring for her dying mother in 2017 pushed her to live on her own terms.
Rachel Hunter has opened up about her decision to star in the latest season of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, detailing how the death of her mother inspired her to take more chances.
Ahead of the show’s Australian premiere today, the 56-year-old supermodel, who was born andraised in Auckland, said caring for her mother during her final months in 2017 changed the way she approached opportunity and public life.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Hunter said a conversation with her mother shortly before her death had a lasting impression on her.
“I was lying next to her in the bed – she was very close to dying – when I asked her: ‘Mum, what do you regret in life?’ And she said, ‘Not being who I am,’” she told the outlet.
“That really hit me hard. I was like, God, what do I want to do? How do I move through the grief once she passes?
“It made me think a lot about how much we hide behind caring what people think.”
Kiwi model Rachel Hunter is starring on this season of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!. Photo / Channel 10
Following her mother’s death, Hunter sold her Los Angeles home and began travelling extensively, including spending months in India studying yoga and meditation while living with few possessions.
She said the stripped-back lifestyle had helped prepare her for the physical and mental demands of the reality series, which is filmed in the South African jungle.
“I’m used to living in very rural areas, not really having everything at my fingertips,” Hunter said.
Hunter had previously declined offers to appear on the UK version of I’m A Celebrity, she said, but felt compelled to accept the Australian invitation despite uncertainty about how the decision might be received.
“I know it will put me in the public eye again. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’ll be an absolute s*** decision. But why not try it?”
The New Zealand model rose to international fame after she was approached on a beach as a teenager and encouraged to consider modelling.
