S

HEstillsometimeshas to

pinch herself to check that

it’s all real: the fabulous

trips all over the world, the

glam designer dresses

she gets paid to wear, the

fact that in her handbag is

a key that opens the door

to her own New York apartment.

As a former Miss South Africa and

Miss Universe this is all par for the course

butforDemi-Leigh Nel-Peters it never

getsold– evenafteralmosttwoyears

When we chatted to her recently she

was looking forward to returning to SA

to take a seat on the judging panel for

this year’s Miss South Africa pageant.

After all that’s happened over the past

few years, it feels as if she’s come full

circle, Demi tells us.

“I’ve been in their shoes,” she says.

“I understand what they’re experiencing,

and I can relate to them in every aspect

of the competition.

“IalsoknowhowmucheffortI putin

whenI wasa competitorandhowmuch

of her eye and one of her biggest motiva-

tors in life.

So her death in May left Demi com-

pletely devastated.

“My heart is definitely far from being

healed,” she tells us.

“I doubt I’ll ever be able to erase Fran-

je’s contagiously beautiful smile and

distinctive laugh. She’ll always be my

little sister.”

Demi is just thankful that Tim, an

outfielderforNewYorkMajorLeague

baseballteamtheSyracuseMets,got

HA

NRI

HU

MA

N

inthe city.

“I wakeupeverymorningstillinawe,”

saysthe 24-year-oldbeautyqueenwho

hailsfromthesmalltownofSedgefield

intheWesternCape.

EventhoughherstintasMissUniverse

endedlatelastyearshe’sremainedin

theBigApple.

Amodellingcontractwithoneofthe

world’s leadingagenciesanda whopping

diamondengagementringonherfinger

• whi h hhichhunkk fiyfiancé TiéTimTT bebow(31)(31)
  presentedtoherwhenhepoppedthe
  questionearlierthisyear–haveensured
  thatAmericawillbebeherherpermaneperman nt
  baseefforortthheforeseeablefuture.
  Andyetthere’s still only one place she
  callshome.

dedicationittakestowinnot nlya

nationaltitlebutoneofthemostcom-

petitiveinternationaltitles,”shesays.

Butthere’s notherreasonhertrip

homeis goingtobesignificant.

It marksthefirsttimeshe’sreturning

sincethefuneralofhersister,Franje (13),

earlierthisyear.

Franjewasbornwithsubtotalcerebel-

laragenesis–a rareconditionthat

entails theabsenceofthebrain’scerebel-

ns t

functionssuchasspeech,movement,

balanceandbeingable tositupright.

Demi oftenspokeabouthowher

severelyrelyddisabledsisterfromthesecond

marriageofherherdad,d BenniePeters o

her stepmother, Elz bé, was the apple

tomeetFranjelastyearinDecember

whenhevisitedSA forthefirsttime.

“Iwasexcitedandsohappyheca e

toSAformanyreasons.Oneofthemain

reasonswasforhimtomeetFranje.I’m

sogratefulforthetimehegottospend

withherinDecember.

“Showinghimwheremyrootsstem

fromwassospecialandit’s a timeI’ll

remember forever,” shesays.

Afabulousapartment intheBigApple

anda fairytaleweddingtoplan–

Demi-Leighis lovinglife

BYSHANAAZPRINCE

12 | 8 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^

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