When one door shut for Buffalo-born fashion model Angelea Preston, another—arguably more meaningful one—opened.

Preston is believed to have been the intended winner of “America’s Next Top Model,” the Tyra Banks reality show that pits wannabe runway walkers against each other for a coveted modeling contract and big bucks. Rumors flew around the web about the reasons for her secretive disqualification, but all that drama is behind Preston now that the Buffalo beauty is happily married and expecting a child.

“I’m very excited about things that have been happening in my life recently, like with my marriage and my baby and my career,” Preston, 25, said in a recent Us Weekly interview. “I feel very blessed.”

The magazine reveals that Preston discovered she was pregnant while in Buffalo visiting family around Christmas. It doesn’t look like that baby bump will be putting a damper on her modeling career. Preston signed with Expecting Models, and she hopes to get some jobs from that “exciting” opportunity.

Preston, who gave birth to a baby girl three months prematurely in 2003, told Us Weekly that she’s happy to have a second chance at motherhood.

“My son is going to look up to me and view me as a role model, so I just want to be the best person that I can be for him. That includes learning to forgive people and learning not to hold grudges and learning to be the best person that I can be for me and my son,” she said.