Vena Soul

Supermodel, groundbreaking producer, and cultural icon Tyra Banks is officially single and ready to mingle! The 52-year-old fashion powerhouse made an unexpected and candid revelation about her personal life during an in-depth conversation with Nessa on HOT 97, confirming she has stepped back into the dating arena with an entirely fresh perspective.

While her appearance initially focused on the viral second wind of her 2011 novel Modelland — which returned to store shelves earlier this month alongside an audiobook featuring Banks voicing more than 50 characters — the dialogue turned deeply personal when talk shifted to romance after 50. Banks admitted she had previously closed that chapter of her life entirely before experiencing a sudden change of heart.

"I think that it’s never too late to start again," Banks shared with disarming vulnerability. "I’m a single woman now, right? I’m 52 years old and I’m single. And I kind of was over it. I’m like, 'I’ve got my mom, I’ve got my son... and I’m good.' But now I’m like, 'You know what? It is not too late.' And now I feel feminine dating. There is no such thing as, 'Oh, it has to be over because of an age or because you’re just done.' So I’m living my feminineness right now."

The admission signals the quiet conclusion of Banks’ years-long relationship with Canadian businessman Louis Bélanger-Martin, whom she had been romantically linked to since roughly 2018. Prior to that union, Banks dated photographer Erik Asla, with whom she welcomed son York via surrogate in 2016 before parting ways the following year.

Asked what qualities she is looking for in a partner this time around, the America's Next Top Model creator confessed her checklist looks radically different than it did in her twenty-something modeling days. "When I was young, he just had to be fine as hell, man. He just had to be pretty," Banks laughed. "And now I don’t care, child. I still want to be attracted to him, but he doesn’t have to be like a supermodel kind of guy. I want somebody that is present. Oh, the value behind someone being present."

Between returning to prime-time television as a recurring judge on Project Runway and navigating her ongoing creative endeavors, Tyra Banks is stepping boldly into her fifties on her own terms — proving that confidence, reinvention, and new beginnings have no expiration date.

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