Tyra Banks reveals the REAL reason she decided to pack her life and move to Australia to open an ice-cream store – after THAT viral video

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Tyra Banks has spoken out about her unexpected move to Australia.

The host of America’s Next Top Model shared that she started traveling to Australia often while working on an ice cream project for a cruise line, and quickly grew to love the Australian way of life.

She shared in an interview with 2GB’s Michael McLaren that she loves ice cream, and that it became a special way for her and her mother to connect growing up, as her mum raised her alone.

She said her company, Smize and Dream, began making products in Melbourne. This required a lot of traveling until it became practical to move there permanently.

She explained that she launched the ice cream business and began production in Melbourne to fulfill orders for cruise ships departing from Australia and Asia.

‘We were coming here a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot.’

Tyra was really surprised to discover she had to change her recipes because the milk in Australia wasn’t the same quality as what she was used to.

I completely had to rework my ice cream recipes. Your milk is so fresh and has such a unique flavor – I could actually taste the pasture and the cow! It meant starting over with everything.

After traveling across several states for months, Tyra, her partner Louis Bélanger-Martin, and their nine-year-old son, York, have finally settled in Sydney.

We eventually decided to move, but it took us a while to figure things out. We considered the Gold Coast and Victoria before making up our minds, she said.

‘We decided on Sydney because of the locals and the tourism, which was important.’

Smize and Dream, which opened in Darling Harbour in June, has quickly become popular for a unique treat: hot ice cream. Each serving also includes a special ‘hidden smize surprise’ from the brand.

She described it as finding a perfect, handcrafted truffle – a delightful surprise you have to search for, like uncovering a hidden treasure.

The dessert business owner is very involved in every aspect of her brand, working tirelessly to make her ideas a reality.

I’m exhausted, but it’s a good kind of tired. When you’re building a startup, you end up doing absolutely everything – from human resources and operations to sales, planning, and even cleaning!

Tyra is embracing her fun, unexpected new phase, complete with popular costumes. While people around the world are surprised by her choices, she’s found something special in Australia – a feeling of belonging.

We visited again and again, and eventually my family realized this place truly made us happy, she explained.

Everyone at a party in Surry Hills was surprised to see the supermodel over the weekend. She’s been quietly living in Sydney and starting a dessert business, and she showed up at The Beresford dressed as her fun, festive character, Santa SMiZE.

Tyra kicked off her performance with a cheerful song about an ice cream maker who lives at the South Pole. Dressed in a bright yellow wig and long gloves, she began by singing, ‘Ho ho ho is my cookie dough dough dough!’

She encouraged the audience to participate, leading a chant of ‘Santa smize, Santa smize. Dough, dough, again!’ which left many club patrons looking puzzled.

TikTok was flooded with stunned reactions, with viewers asking: ‘Is she okay like for REAL?’ 

Honestly, watching that, I was completely lost! And from what I’m seeing online, I’m definitely not alone. It seems like nobody in the audience had a clue what was happening either – a total mystery!

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2025-12-10 10:33