Charlotte McKinney Still Can't Believe She Had a Tough Time Breaking into Modeling, Wishes She Were in with Kendall Jenner's Squad and More

If Fourth of July weekend didn’t max out your bikini photo quota of the year, Charlotte McKinney’s latest photo shoot — in which she poses in some very skimpy swimwear — will do it. The Dancing with the Stars alum (and eye-popping model) dishes to
GQ
about how she knew she’d make it as a model from the beginning.

Ben Watts/GQ

Though bikinis got her where she is today (you may remember this Carl’s Jr. ad), she prefers to wear even less in her downtime. “I’m such a don’t-wear-a-bra kind of girl,” McKinney tells GQ. “Take the makeup off — I’m like ripping lashes off and pulling down my hair. Because I’m not that kinda girl. And that’s why I think guys connect with me.”

She also relied on that male connection to give her confidence when her modeling career wasn’t taking off, saying that being the “5-ft.-7-in. double-D girl” kept her from experiencing success in the beginning. “I’m like, we’re in Miami, we’re all in bikinis, I don’t get it. I was just so dumbfounded,” she says. “Because at the end of the day I’d be sitting across from some 6-ft. girl and she was flat, with long hair, and the industry was selling products for men, and as a kid I’d go: Guys wanna sleep with this! Not that. And I didn’t get it … I know what guys like. I know what sells at the end of the day. Because I got such reactions on the street — I’d walk into a room, and think, ‘There’s no way no one can sign me.’ ”

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Her big break came via her Carl’s Jr. ad, but according to McKinney (who now says she’s bored of the modeling world), there was another secret ingredient to her success: combating insecurities with a sense of humor — especially in an industry where she’s constantly being compared to other models thanks to social media and the era of “squad goals.”

“There’s the Kendall Jenner group, there’s the Euro group, you have the model group that hangs out with the celebrities, and then there’s just … me,” she shares. “It’s so hard not to look at that stuff — they got invited here, and I didn’t. But at the end of the day, instead of being a bragging model, I’d rather just be a role model,” she says, pointing out, “People look at me as more down to earth than other models, because at the end of a shoot, I’m kicking back with a cocktail and I’m joking about the set and how cheesy some of it was.”

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For more from the model, including why she was called “Jail Bait” at a young age, check out GQ.com and tell us: What are your thoughts on McKinney’s photo shoot? What about her foray into acting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

— Colleen Kratofil