by Mike Bandy

Last night on America's Next Top Model, Nicole, the 20-year-old beauty from Orlando, FL, was eliminated. For the second week in a row, Tyra and Co. thought that Nicole photographed much older than her years, and they decided that she should not continue on in the competition. We caught up with Nicole to talk about her time in the competition, what she REALLY thinks about the panel saying she photographs old, and what's coming up next for her.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: Did you make any lasting friendships with any girls in the house?
A. Nicole: I did! I'm really good friends with Angelia, I talk to her almost every single day, and I was really close to Dalya in the house; we bonded over being undramatic.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: Last night you said that you really appreciated Tyra's advice, and you think you were trying too hard. What did you really learn from the competition?
A. Nicole: You know, it's hard for me to say that I took a lot of it...I don't understand how I look older in pictures. I have a portfolio FULL of pictures where I don't look old, so it confuses me. But the experience was absolutely worth it.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: Give us some behind the scenes info: What do the girls REALLY talk about while waiting for panel to decide who gets eliminated?
A. Nicole: Um, you know, after we walked offstage, I told everyone that I knew I was gonna be eliminated, I kinda knew that I needed to say goodbye. I was sad because it was unexpected that I looked old [in my pictures]. A lot of the other girls were really hard on themselves and I was at well.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: During the facing your worst critic challenge, you said that it helped you work through a lot of your problems. How is your confidence these days?
A. Nicole: They didn't show a lot of the challenge, but I AM my worst critic. I'm really hard on myself, and I'm a perfectionist. I'm not the most confident person, if you ask me if I think I'm pretty, I'll tell you that I think I'm average and it's true. The experience taught me that I deserved to be in the competition, even though I look like an idiot saying that now, because I got eliminated.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: If you could predict who would win the competition, who would it be?
A. Nicole: I have three girls that I'd love to see win: Molly, Brittani, and Mikaela. They all have extremely high fashion looks, and I'd be happy if any one of them won.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: What's coming up next for you?
A. Nicole: Right now I have to finish up this semester at school, and then see where life takes me. I just want to see what doors open for me.

America's Next Top Model airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.

(Image courtesy of the CW)