Alisha White shocked everyone when she unexpectedly quit “America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion” during last week’s episode, but the U.K. model says she had no other choice.

The 20-year-old model from London, England, says the guidance she received from the judges was unclear and, even though she felt like she was giving it her all at every photo shoot, she was still frequently landing in the bottom two.

“I don’t feel like they had an expectation for me, it was kind of just like, ‘Let’s see what she can do,’ and it was a bit upsetting . . . I was literally giving 200 per cent on every single shoot and the fact that it wasn’t showing, what more can I do?” Alisha tells CTV.ca over the phone.

“Every elimination I was questioning my ability as a model, as a person, and that’s just really upsetting, especially for me, someone who actually works in the U.K. as a model, who gets paid, and who (was a runner-up) on ‘Britain’s Next Top Model.’”

She adds that if she had stayed she thought it might actually hurt her career.

“As the pictures were going through every week, I was thinking, ‘This is ruining my reputation.’ This is not good because I’m going to get back to London and people are going to think, ‘Huh? Is this how she models? Is this what she can do?’ And it’s honestly not. It’s so frustrating because I feel like everybody saw my personality and how I really am in real life but they didn’t get to see my modeling ability and that’s the whole point of being in the show.”

Alisha says she had been thinking about quitting the show for a while and when she once again landed in the bottom two, along with 18-year-old Eboni Davis from Seattle, Wash., she felt like it was time to say something.

“It just got to the point where I just thought I’m not going to be selfish, I’m not going to pretend to be happy and I’m going to give the other girls a chance to battle it out because this is what they actually want to do.”

She was hoping that taking herself out of the running would’ve saved her friend Eboni, but that was not the case as Tyra Banks still sent the young model home.

“I was so disappointed because obviously I’d already made the decision I wanted to go weeks before . . . and when (Tyra) said no I was so upset because I was so close with Eboni.”

But even though it didn’t work out as planned, Alisha says she has no regrets about her decision to quit “ANTM.”    

“I felt like if I’d stayed I would’ve made a fool out of myself probably the week after because I was so frustrated, so emotional, so unhappy . . . it was just better I moved away from the situation.”

Despite all of that that, Alisha says she is still really glad she participated in the show.

“’America’s Next Top Model’ for me was a dream come true . . . I don’t have any regrets. I felt like this was a learning curve for me. It was something I needed to do, it was part of my journey, and I’m happy I did it.”

Alisha says doing a music video with the other girls was one of her biggest highlights from the show, as was the traveling. She was especially happy to travel to Canada during a challenge that required the girls to walk the runway at Toronto Fashion Week.

“My mum has been talking about Toronto since I’ve been eight . . . and when they said we were going (there), I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s like they read my mum’s mind.’ Toronto is just like England but it’s just a bit more snazzy. It was bloody cold but it was so good! I loved it and definitely want to come back.”

Alisha is now back home in London and as well as modeling and acting, is working on everything from a new clothing line to writing a book.

“I’m really, really excited about the future and I’m so excited for everybody to see what I can actually do. I think it’s my time to prove it.” 

Watch 'ANTM' first in Canada exclusively at CTV.ca.
 

About Sheri Block

Sheri Block has been covering entertainment for CTV.ca since 2008. In addition to covering Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding in London, Sheri’s highlights have included going on tour with “Canadian Idol,” being a stand-in on “Canada’s Next Top Model” and meeting Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival.Follow her on Twitter!