Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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magazine covers followed. Although she hasn't given up modeling, she is now expanding her career. She recently appeared with Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert—she's a big fan of his—on his YouTube series On the Table and made the soft-spoken Frenchman blush when she told him bluntly that modeling "is like prostitution, Eric. You just can't give it up—the money's too good!" "Chrissy is outspoken in the best way!" Ripert says. "She is fun and energetic, and her positive energy is contagious, as is her passion for food." It's that infectious personality that Teigen plans on using to segue into the next stage of her life. On May 8 she debuted as a reality TV host, on the new VH1 competition series Model Employee. The show's first season involved eight models (some of whom she has actually worked with before) competing to become the face of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. They soon discover they're not participating in a run-of-the-mill modeling competition when they're subjected to an array of crazy challenges, like cleaning the hotel's shark tank or flying through Aureole's wine tower on a wire pulley. T he move to TV host came naturally for Teigen, who says she ultimately wants a hybrid career, like those of the women she most admires: Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Padma Lakshmi. "I actually think I'm better in front of a television camera than a still camera," she says. "I love to talk… obviously." Teigen was a shoo-in for the VH1 job, says Eli Holzman, president of All3Media America, which executive-produces the show. "It was love at first sight," he says. "Chrissy is unfiltered, and we love that about her. We tried our best to allow her the freedom for her personal voice to come through the show. I can't remember a time that we needed to rein in her personality. She is a pro." Although her fiancé came to visit her often during filming last summer, she says she also relished the opportunity to spend time with her half-sister, Tina, who lives in Las Vegas. "We always have a good time here," Teigen says. "How can you not? I lived at Mandalay Bay the entire time we were shooting, and at one point I realized that I had spent 11 days without ever going outside. I didn't even realize it, because there was just so much happening. I would have these 5 AM call times, and it would be hysterical to go through the casino and see the number of people who were still there [from the night before]." Teigen found out she had booked the Model Employee gig during a backstage phone call while Legend was shooting the finale of the now-defunct TV show Duets. "I started crying like a baby," she says. "It was embarrassing, but I was so happy. I had been waiting for an opportunity like this." When she isn't working, she is usually in Los Angeles with Legend (who released a new album in June), her family, and her two dogs. The Grammywinning singer shares her talent for cooking. "I love his fried chicken," Teigen says. "I think his macaroni and cheese is a little dry, but he doesn't." They collaborated on Chrissy Teigen's Hungry, a show on the Cooking Channel that explores the menu options for their upcoming wedding. The couple met on the set of his video for the song "Stereo" in 2007 and were engaged in the Maldives in December 2011. As she curls up sideways in a big black armchair, Teigen looks down at the breathtaking cushion-cut diamond engagement ring on her finger and smiles. "He is such a romantic and so completely loving," she says. "I am so much crazier than him, but he lets me be myself. Sometimes I'll say to him, 'Is it okay to say this?' And he'll say, 'Maybe not, but do whatever you want to do.'" She says the fact that they're polar opposites is partly why the relationship works so well, although Teigen jokes at times that she does wish he were a little more like her. "He's been working and shooting videos and I've been, I don't know, not jealous, but maybe a little insecure," she says. "I know it's his work and I get that, but we met on a video shoot. So I feel these little pangs. But he never gets jealous! I shoot half-naked with male photographers and he'll just say, 'Did you get good shots today?'" Teigen will go out on tour with Legend later this year, but then there's the issue of their nuptials. While she won't be specific about a date, she says it will be soon—although it's taken almost a year and a half to finalize the details with LA wedding planner Lisa Vorce, because Teigen is, admittedly, indecisive. "We had a place picked out, and then I changed my mind about it," she says. "I do that. I had a dress picked out for the Grammys, and then at the last minute I changed my mind because I just didn't like the first one anymore. But," she says smiling, "I am still liking the feeling of being engaged to him." Teigen says the wedding will be rustic and intimate—and definitely not at the beach. The swimsuit model and former Hawaii resident has confessed that she isn't too keen on sand and doesn't really know how to swim. "I truly hate the beach," she says. "The sand makes me feel dirty, and saltwater is my kryptonite. It's like acid to me, and not the fun acid." After changing her mind about her wedding dress and buying multiple alternatives, she has finally settled on a Vera Wang stunner. "There's just something about her wedding dresses," she says. "You try on a lot of others, and then you put on one of hers and there's just no comparison." Teigen would love to have a big family and has pictured herself with four children—and there had better not be a picky eater in the bunch. "I can envision everyone there for Sunday dinner," she says. "They better show up!" But for now, she is fully savoring success and her moment in the spotlight: "I feel like every year it's been getting better and a little more exciting. Everything is sort of falling into place now. And it's all really good." V "I learned long ago not to Google myself." —Chrissy Teigen VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 87 082-087_V_Feat_Cover_Sum13.indd 87 6/19/13 11:39 AM