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Topics: News, US News, Life, Wildfires, California
Kit Roberts
Topics: News, US News, Life, Wildfires, California
A Playboy model has opened up about how one massive loss led to her becoming homeless.
Kourtney Reppert made it as a model for the magazine with her stunning good looks, partying at the Playboy mansion alongside celebrities.
But Reppert, 39, has now revealed how difficult things became for her despite her highly glamorous lifestyle.
Not only that, but she hinted that the expectations placed on her were draining, and she is now finding a broader sense of purpose.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: "From the outside, it looked like I had everything. But perfection is exhausting. And it doesn't protect you when everything falls apart."
Reppert was a star at Playboy in the early 2000s, when the brand was extremely influential, and her status saw her spending time with the stars.
But Reppert shared that the lifestyle relied heavily on how she looked.
She said: "You're valued for how you look, not who you are. And when that's the foundation of your identity, it's incredibly fragile."
And this fragility was exposed when Reppert suffered a calamity in her personal life in 2018.
That year the Woolsey Fires swept through California, and Reppert's home was one of those which was destroyed in the blaze.
She said: "I had to start again with nothing. No safety net. No brand. No plan. Just resilience."
While her good looks had secured her success at Playboy, she realized just how precarious this was.
"People assume being beautiful means being secure. It doesn't,' she said.
"Beauty fades, trends change, and if that's all you've invested in, you're left vulnerable."
Reppert would be left homeless and hopping between hotels, having lost her home and everything in it in the blaze.
When rebuilding her life Reppert chose to move away from modelling exclusively and pursue business ventures and philanthropy.
Now, she is reflecting on how much life can change, and that we shouldn't try to choose what we want for our whole lives when we're young as we simply don't know how things will change.
She said: "The idea that you choose one path at 18 and stick to it forever is unrealistic.
"Especially for women, who often have career breaks, caregiving responsibilities or industries that simply don't last."
Reppert also wants to reach out to women in particular, saying that she now wants to help other women to find more independence and self-sufficiency in their lives.