HollywoodLife.com spoke to Nigel in his first interview since he was fired as judge on the hit show and he reveals what it was like when Tyra told him the news!
Nigel Barker is keeping his chin up and is excited for what’s next. But the 39-year-old photographer and long-time fixture of America’s Next Top Model tells HollywoodLife.com that learning that he was not going to be a part of season 19 is definitely difficult to come to terms with.
Its always sad when it comes to an end, Nigel says. Ratings have been going down and the networks [CBS & CW] wanted to shake things up and they came to to the conclusion that changing everything would fix things.
We told you that Nigel, Jay Manuel and J Alexander were all let go from the show and Tyra Banks even took to her Twitter to comment on the news.
It is always going to be a bit awkward, how could it not be, he says now of his relationship with Tyra. Whenever you call anyone up to say listen you can't come or I'm not coming....it's over. it's never the call anyone wants to have. I don't think any of us wanted to leave.
But Nigel tells HollywoodLife.com that now he will be able to focus on opportunities that he wasn’t able to before.
I myself have had many opportunities that I haven't been able to follow up on because of the exclusivity of America's Next Top Model, he says. It is sad because it was an era. I turn 40 next week and it defined my 30s. Now my 40s: here we go! I'm looking forward to going off on my own and doing my own shows and being my own boss.
But has this hurt his relationship with Tyra?
To be honest I don’t think it has hurt my relationship with her at all, Nigel tells us. It's not just her. There are many different factors. This is a huge business with CBS and the CW… who knows what the right decison may be. Maybe they made a bad decision. They will see and find out. I wish them nothing but the best and good luck with the next.
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