“America's Next Top Model” Contestant Shandi Sullivan Claims Production Framed Her Sexual Assault as a Cheating Storyline

Angela AndaloroWed, February 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC

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Shandi Sullivan (left), Tyra Banks

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Shandi Sullivan was working at a Walgreens in Missouri when she auditioned for America's Next Top Model

Being part of cycle 2 was exciting for Shandi until a trip to Milan led to a traumatic experience that was captured on camera

Shandi is opening up about her assault and the aftermath in Netflix's new docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model

Shandi Sullivan wanted to be a top model.

As she reveals in Netflix's new docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, Shandi was excited to go from her small-town life working at Walgreens to the bustling world of modeling. From early on, Shandi knew it was hard work, describing her storyline as "ugly duckling to swan."

Everything in her journey on the show and in modeling changed after the cycle 2 group was taken to Milan.

"When we first got there, they said, you're gonna go to a bunch of go-sees," she recalls, as a scene where the women are introduced to Vespa drivers plays.

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Shandi Sullivan cries the morning after her assault

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"That was all day long. It took all day long. And then we went back to our little house that we were staying at," she recalls.

"And I don't remember who said it, but somebody was like, 'How would you guys feel about having like the guys that were on the mopeds come by and have dinner with you guys? And we'll have some wine and stuff."

Shandi thought the idea "sounded fun," but she had no idea what that night had in store. "I'm just excited to just have a night. We were just like talking, drinking. I don't think I'd eaten anything at all or had any sleep," she began.

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Shandi Sullivan breaks down on the phone with her boyfriend

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"I remember getting in the hot tub. I remember April, Mercedes getting in the hot tub. And then I just remember the guy looking at me and I looked at him. And I was pretty drunk at that point. Everything kind of after that is just a blur."

Shandi was emotional as she continued her account, claiming, "I remember him on top of me. I was blacked out. No one did anything to stop it. And it all got filmed, all of it."

"I was hammered. I think I had two bottles of wine by myself. I just remember, like, little bits and pieces. He threw me in the shower and then just sitting in the shower. And then we're in the bed. I was blacked out for a lot of it. I didn't even feel sex happening. I just knew it was happening. And then I passed out," she said.

"The next day, I woke up. I was, like, 'Holy s--t, what the f--k happened last night?' It all fucking hit me. It just flooded over me. I just sat there and cried."

Footage from the next morning shows a hysterical Shandi say, "I just want to die," as she realizes what transpired. As the storyline unfolded, the incident was portrayed as a drunk Shandi cheating on her boyfriend back home, rather than what she describes in the docuseries as a sexual assault. It's something that's still hard for the one-time model to process to this day.

Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model is available to stream on Netflix beginning Feb. 16.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”