Lunch at Michael's with Rachel Hunter

"I struggle with the really down to earth part of me," says Rachel Hunter, former supermodel and star of WE's new Style Me, airing Monday's (10 PM ET/7 PM/PT). "The fashion business is something I reluctantly went into to help me do the things I really love, like being in Africa with the gorillas. This business is awesome, but I love other things." In an interview with MediaVillage.com editor Jack Myers, Rachel said she hopes to share this perspective with contestants who vie each week for her attention each week on Style Me. "I've been on the contestant side and I feel compassion for them, but sometimes I have to put my foot down. I need to take some of them under my wing and try to give them perspective."

Rachel Hunter

Rachel has been ubiquitous on television in the past few years, has been a magnet for publicity about her new series, and has feature roles in two movies set for release later this year. She was a cast-away on TBS' Gilligan's Island remake, and says "I loved it. It was a fantasy of mine to be stranded on a desert island and have to survive." Of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, she comments "It was awesome. I was a dancer when I was young and I was very disappointed when I was cut (in the fourth week)." Style Me, she says, "is fun and offers real honest and interesting insight into the world of stylists; it's good to be involved in the industry again, and to think about what's next and what's up-and-coming."

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While the eight-week WE series that premieres this week is all about what she's wearing, Rachel claims she is "more fascinated about politics than what I'm wearing. I like to be more mentally stimulated. I work hard to organize my life around my work, my children and also have some personal life." Rachel told me, "I love working and need to work, but my children are most important. My 13-year old daughter," she said proudly, "produced a two-minute school video on her computer about the bad things that have happened in the world during her short lifetime. Her age group struggles with monumental things that have happened in her life. Her age group is crying out, and their concerns are being glossed over with pop psychology. I spend a lot of time with my kids," Rachel added, "and it is so easy to forget how painful those years are. Kids don't need to be 'told'; parents just need to sit on their beds and listen to them, and try to relate."

Rachel with the cast of Style Me

Rachel plans to write a book "not about who my lovers were, but my personal experiences, from my children to my love of Africa." Rachel is also launching a line of women's and men's jewelry for Demeter's Goddess Collection. "I'm into my mythology characters," she laughed. "I've always loved jewelry and will be promoting the line and overseeing designs." She admitted she still has ambitions to design a line of swimsuits and, more importantly, she would like to have a man in her life (sense of humor, strong willed, independent).

To contact Rachel Hunter, write to Contact@MediaVillage.com. Jack Myers' one-on-one interview with Rachel Hunter was not held at Michael's Restaurant.