‘HOW I FOUND MY GLOW’: MODEL CHLOE LLOYD

Model Chloe Lloyd on how her mammy helped her get her break, swimming with sharks and her upcoming nuptials

MODEL Chloe Lloyd was on the cusp of college life when chance, or perhaps more accurately, her mother intervened and set her on course for her catwalk career. Aged just 16, she was looking forward to life after school but as a result of her mother’s good intentions, Chloe entered the world of work straight away – and hasn’t looked back since.

‘I had just finished school and was considering uni and then I won a modelling competition,’ she recalls. ‘My mum actually sent my pictures in. I didn’t even know she had entered me. And I won, so that was great.’

After getting a taste for model life, Chloe put her university plans and hold and embarked on her successful career. In what is a fast-paced and often very cut-throat industry Chloe was clearly a standout star and was soon signed by one of the world’s best known agencies.

‘I was asked to sign on with Storm, they are obviously a huge agency so it was a big deal and it was really great to be on their books,’ she says, of the company which has been behind the careers of Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Jourdan Dunn, Liu Wen, Behati Prinsloo and, until recently, Cara Delevingne.

After forging her name with Storm she departed the agency last year and is now represented by the Squad agency in London and has just returned ➤

from the Maldives, where she shot a stunning campaign for Irish tan brand Bellamianta. The consummate professional even swam with sharks to get the picture-perfect shot.

‘I had been to the Maldives before but this shoot and location was stunning. And it was fun. Sometimes shoots can be hard and long trying to achieve the perfect shot. But this was fun. I had to swim alongside some baby sharks, so it was also a little scary,’ she laughs. Her fiancé Josh Cuthbert accompanied her to the Maldives and the pair also relaxed at the resort for a few days enjoying a pre-wedding break together.

Singer Josh – who was part of Irish boyband Boulevard and was later invited to join another Irish boyband, The Wanted – shot to fame on the X Factor where he came fourth with his band Union J. And it was also through her work as a model that Chloe was introduced to him.

The You Got It All singer, 23, got down on one knee and proposed while the pair enjoyed a romantic gondola ride in Venice recently. ‘We’ve been together for nearly a year, and we’re just having so much fun together,’ she reveals. ‘We are so cringe with each other. I work a lot and I’m always travelling, so when we do get free time, we like to go out for dinner and then chill.’

The pair are set to tie the knot in a romantic ceremony in Oxforshire next month and have just bought their first home in London together. Chloe is very chilled about her upcoming nuptials and, as with most modern brides, has opted for two dresses, a main dress for the ceremony and a party dress for the celebrations and dancing.

‘I am so looking forward to wearing my dress. Even though I have modelled so many wedding dresses over my career this of course will so different. But it was definitely handy when I was looking for a dress that I knew what style suited me.’

EVEN THOUGH I HAVE MODELLED SO MANY WEDDING DRESSES OVER MY CAREER, MY OWN ONE WILL BE SO DIFFERENT