Miss J. Alexander had all but one of his America’s Next Top Model family by his side when he suffered a life-altering illness.
In Netflix’s bombshell new docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, the longtime ANTM runway coach shared that he suffered a stroke on December 27, 2022 — one that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
“I had a stroke. I woke up, I didn’t know where I was, other than the hospital,” Miss J said in the series finale. “I spent five weeks in a coma, and I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk. I thought to myself, what was I going to do?”
Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker — his former ANTM co-judges — showed up during his recovery, but when asked if Tyra Banks visited, Miss J responded, “No, not yet. She just sent me a text that she wants to come and visit me. But, no, not yet.”
The reunion with Manuel and Barker was emotional. “I thought back to how we used to do shows together. I cried because I just missed them so much,” Miss J recalled.
Still, the fashion icon remains determined. “I miss being the queen of the runway. The catwalks, of course,” he said. “I taught models how to walk, and now I can’t walk — not yet! Not yet. I’m determined to walk… It’s not over for me yet.”
