Tyra Banks is embracing an exciting new chapter in her life, calling Australia home.
As the supermodel prepares to open her first Australian store for her drool-worthy ice cream brand, SMiZE & DREAM, she is adjusting to our laid-back lifestyle.
Banks, 51, is "loving" her life in Sydney, and if you ask her, the star will tell you she's fallen head over heels in love with one part of our culture.
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Tyra Banks has adopted a 'cute' Aussie quirk during her time living in Sydney. (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)The Australian accent has a knack for baffling non-locals unless you're Banks, who tells 9honey of her affection for the many quirks in our dialect.
The former America's Next Top Model host confessed her son began noticing she had picked up a common Aussie trait.
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"I like that everything's [got an 'ie' at the end],' she shared, referring to the Aussie tendency to shorten words such as breakfast to 'brekkie' or sunglasses to 'sunnies.'
"I just like the cuteness of that, but my son says I put these, 'ie's on stuff that's not an, 'ie,' Banks explained, "I'll joke with him, I'll be like, 'Oh, the waterie' and he's like 'No!,'" she said with a laugh.
Banks revealed there is one Aussie delicacy that she cannot get enough of. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty)As for Aussie cuisine, one particular delicacy transports Banks back to her childhood in Inglewood, California.
"I love a meat pie," she proclaimed, "I like it because my mum used to make those; it reminds me of my mama to get the meat pies."
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Banks says there is a notable difference between the two, "for you guys, it's like they're everywhere, [but] in America, it's a fancy thing in a restaurant, here I can just grab a meat pie, so I love that."
As much as Banks enjoys a meat pie, that isn't what brought her over 12,000km away from home.
Banks says she "fell in love" with Australia. (Instagram)"We were coming here for business and fell in love with it," the Modelland writer admitted.
"Even before that, I came [at] 20 years old, promoting a movie called Higher Learning where I played a track runner and Australia was on the tour and I couldn't believe that I was coming here!
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"I don't know what America was to you guys when you were kids, but to us, Australia is kangaroos and beaches," Banks explained, comparing the country to a mystical place.
"You just never think you're going to go; it's on people's bucket list!"
Banks says she was inspired by "the magic of back in the day" and adds, "Then we were coming here for the ice cream.
"I was coming a lot and developing flavours, literally sleeping on the factory floor because I had jetlag, but I needed to do research and development."
'So we were just coming and coming and my partner and I were like, 'It's really nice here.'"
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Supermodel Tyra Banks' life and career in photos
The rest is history and ever since, the fashion icon has remained Down Under, where she is building her delicious ice cream empire.
Banks' SMiZE & DREAM ice cream has launched its pop-up in The Rocks Square, Sydney. Fans can try flavours inspired by her childhood, such as Tyra's Favourite, Wake Up & Smell The Crunchy, Miss CoCo Lamington, and vegan Chocolate Cookies and Cream.
The supermodel revealed, "We had to reformulate all of our ice cream flavours because your dairy is so pure.
"It's so interesting because you guys have some of the best dairy on the planet here in New Zealand and Australia. Then from a business perspective, I was like, 'OK, we love it,' but then also the biggest ice cream eaters are America, New Zealand and Australia," she said.
SMiZE & DREAM has two branches in Washington, D.C., and Dubai, UAE, as Banks gears up to launch her first store in Sydney's Darling Harbour.
"Stay tuned," she teased.
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