Jessica Serfaty had a much more low-key life before appearing on America’s Next Top Model . Sporting big, dark curls and a thick Southern accent, she made her first foray into public life on cycle 14 of the Tyra Banks-fronted reality show, introducing herself by saying, “Hey, I’m Jessica from Conway, Arkansas, and we say ‘y’all’ and drink sweet tea.” The world’s wholesome first glimpse of the would-be model is strikingly different to her recent appearance in a recent promo video for her TV show Days of Our Lives , where she sports sleek blonde locks and a hot pink blazer while speaking in a noticeably smoothed-out accent.
Serfaty’s Instagram followers will know that, these days, the former America’s Next Top Model contestant lives a luxurious lifestyle yachting across Europe and attending see-and-be-seen events like the Cannes Film Festival and the Met Gala , and that she recently got engaged to the heir of a sunglasses empire. But just how did she get there? Jessica Serfaty became a wife and mum at 17 {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty attends an Amfar event during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/d27e08cc-3a4d-45ba-a112-502a0b9de0bb_a26c17fe.
jpg"} Jessica Serfaty attends an Amfar event during the Cannes Film Festival in May. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram Born April 4, 1991, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Serfaty met her former husband, Ididia Serfaty, at church when she was just 16 years old and the property manager was 22. They fell in love quickly and when she unexpectedly became pregnant at 17, the couple decided to get married.
Serfaty then became a stay-at-home mum in Arkansas to their son Roman while nurturing her “calling” to become a model. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty with her son, Roman, in 2018.
Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/f615dbad-c10a-4777-a38c-f15828186f3f_3b29db7a.
jpg"} Jessica Serfaty with her son, Roman, in 2018. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram Serfaty’s career ambitions reportedly later caused problems in her relationship when she moved her husband and young son to Los Angeles to try and pursue her modelling dreams. These were tough months that took a toll on the couple’s relationship, with Jessica even disappearing for several days at one point.
A move back to Arkansas failed to smooth the relationship’s rough patches and, eventually, the couple divorced. How did Jessica Serfaty get into modelling? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty poses in a bikini while on holiday on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, in July 2023.
Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/32da33e9-ee68-4625-852c-3cb886a17eda_7390c88c.
jpg"} Jessica Serfaty poses in a bikini while on holiday on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, in July 2023. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram Serfaty, standing at just over 175cm tall, was scouted by a modelling agent at the mall. However, she was told she was too young to hire at the time.
“They said, come back when you are 18, and I’ve been counting down the days until I was 18 to audition, and here I am,” she shared in her America’s Next Top Model interview. “I absolutely love modelling, it’s my favourite, it’s my calling, not even just my passion or my dream but my calling.” Despite ranking first in two episodes, Serfaty was eliminated in the 10th episode of her season for having a look that was “too commercial”.
In the previous episode, she accidentally started a fire by burning a taco on a toaster and throwing a wet rag over it. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty at an event in Florence, Italy, in June 2023.
Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/94f14291-a475-418a-a96c-cf494c47ccf4_7390c88c.
jpg"} Jessica Serfaty at an event in Florence, Italy, in June 2023. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram After her time on the show, Serfaty moved her young family to Los Angeles, but her relationship slowly deteriorated. Despite her tumultuous personal life, Serfaty signed with several prestigious modelling agencies – including Next Model Management in Los Angeles – worked with numerous clothing and jewellery brands, featured in ad campaigns for McDonald’s and Toyota, and appeared in the music video for “Highway Don’t Care,” a pop-country hit by Taylor Swift , Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.
She’s dated lots of celebrities {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty goes skydiving with then boyfriend Logan Paul in 2015. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/5b4a96b0-3ba4-43a5-9130-b0bf59e33389_069ef963.jpg"} Jessica Serfaty goes skydiving with then boyfriend Logan Paul in 2015.
Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram After her divorce in 2013, Serfaty dated YouTuber Logan Paul from 2014 to 2017 – reportedly his longest relationship. Serfaty was then briefly linked to Joe Jonas , lead singer of The Jonas Brothers – the pair spent Christmas 2015 together in Las Vegas – before moving on with One Direction’s Niall Horan through 2016. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty kisses her then boyfriend, actor Ed Westwick. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/7e9e2cd3-30b5-4d0e-9e1a-f45a67271471_7390c88c.jpg"} Jessica Serfaty kisses her then boyfriend, actor Ed Westwick. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram She then dated Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick in 2017, with the pair even being spotted picking out engagement rings while on holiday in Paris, according to People.
She then moved on to Firefly founder Kaan Gunay, announcing their engagement in 2019, just nine months after her split from Westwick, reported US Weekly. The pair called off their engagement in 2022, per Parade. She’s now engaged to Ray-Ban heir, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Jessica Serfaty announces her engagement to fiancé Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, in July 2023. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/23/1c1b7977-bf9a-4ebc-a300-bf3045a42b98_bc474711.jpg"} Jessica Serfaty announces her engagement to fiancé Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, in July 2023. Photo: @jessicamichel/Instagram As of July 2023, Serfaty is engaged to Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the chief strategy officer of EssilorLuxottica, his family’s eyewear group.
The group owns Ray-Ban and Oakley and makes glasses for high-end designers like Brunello Cucinelli, Chanel and Prada. Parade reported that the couple met in 2017 at the Cannes Film Festival, but only connected many years later. Del Vecchio proposed on Italy’s Amalfi Coast with a yellow diamond.
Jessica Serfaty became a young wife and mum when she married at the age of 17; since her divorce, she’s dated Joe Jonas, Niall Horan, Logan Paul and Ed Westwick She began her career on Season 14 of the Tyra Banks-fronted reality TV show and has since gone on to work with brands like McDonald’s and Toyota; she’s also an actress, appearing on Days of Our Lives.
