Former 'ANTM' Contestant Lisa D'Amato Left the United States and Hasn't Looked Back Since
"Something inside told me this was all happening for a reason and I was going to have to tell my story."
Published Nov. 18 2024, 8:40 p.m. ET
In September 2005, fans of America's Next Top Model were introduced to one of their most controversial contestants, then 24-year-old Lisa D'Amato. At this point, the soon-to-be wildly popular reality competition series had only been on for two years, so it's hard to imagine a time when there were few contentious wannabe models.
While there were some questionable things allegedly happening behind the scenes, such as Cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry never getting what was promised to her, the early days featured better-behaving contestants. Then out of the blue Lisa appeared, and was an easy target for the infamous villain cut. Most Reddit threads devoted to Lisa's time on the show paint her as an attention-seeking drama queen.
She has since come forward to discuss her time on the show. Where is Lisa D'Amato now?
Where is Lisa D'Amato now? She moved out of the United States.
In 2023, Lisa moved to Portugal with her father and two children in pursuit of better healthcare for her dad. According to an Instagram post from Lisa in November 2024, she has been her father's main caretaker for about 10 years. He suffers from Multiple sclerosis (MS), type 2 diabetes, and an "addiction to sugar and carbs like no other," says Lisa.
She goes on to say that her father's insurance was covering the medication he needed and only covered "lower-end meds that needed more meds to help stop the side effects of those other meds."
On top of all this, he was still being charged a co-pay for his lower-end medication. After doing some research, Lisa found that once her dad is a permanent resident the Portugal healthcare system covers all of his diabetes medication. Overall, his needs will be met on a more affordable basis.
Fleeing the United States was something Lisa had always wanted to do. She admits to being sick and tired of the United States economy and its obsession with celebrity. Lisa is not one to ignore the harsh truths of the world and said obviously Portugal isn't perfect. Apparently, they need to work on their patriarchy but in general, she is feeling hopeful about the decision to relocate her family.
Since going on 'America's Next Top Model,' Lisa has said it was an abusive experience.
In January 2021, Lisa referenced some of the abuse she allegedly experienced while on the show, in a moving post to Instagram. She claimed that host Tyra Banks used her childhood trauma against her which "broke her heart."
Lisa goes on to accuse Tyra of "knowing the horrible trauma" her mother inflicted upon her growing up and asks how the host can possibly sleep at night while doing the same thing to other girls on the show.
Lisa has since called out Tyra and the show on podcasts like Let's Get Into It and is also sharing her story on VICE's Dark Side of Reality TV series, which features America's Next Top Model. Back in 2014, Lisa was on a panel at an event in Los Angeles called The F Word. While there, she opened up about her past and labeled her mother as a narcissist who used to encourage eating disorders in her daughters, per Huffington Post.
After binging and purging so much in one day that Lisa landed in the hospital, she hit rock bottom and knew she needed to change. Slowly but surely, she began to live a healthier life and was able to built her metabolism back up.
"Something inside told me this was all happening for a reason and I was going to have to tell my story ... and that it was probably part of my purpose."