Former Miss Universe Albania Angela Martini opens up about her mother and life struggles in new book
Angela Martini definitely needs no introduction. Her initial claim to fame comes from her eventful journey at Donald Trump’s Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas in 2010, where the model placed sixth. Currently, Martini is expanding her reach in the beauty and lifestyle space as an influencer and is set to debut as a published author.
Martini was born in Shkodër, Albania, and moved to Switzerland at the age of 10 before transplanting to the U.S. She is expected to chronicle the hardships her mother endured in her native Albania, escaping communism and re-establishing herself as a successful woman in Switzerland where she was raised, in her yet to be titled book.
The model exclusively spoke to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) about her journey and her upcoming book and also about her small stint with Trump and how her mother's life lessons have helped her become the person she is. Speaking about her accomplishments at the Miss Universe Pageant, she said, "First of all, it’s an amazing mixed feeling of happiness, confidence, and satisfaction! Moreover, such a thing brought me the possibility of entering into a whole new world. This way I had the chance to meet a lot of celebrities, business people, artists, writers, etc."
She further explained, "Only talking with this kind of people and sharing ideas and thoughts inspired me to want more and to struggle to become the best version of myself. In such an environment, I was lucky that I had the chance to express who I really am inside and to get their attention for that. From that first moment, it was only about work and perseverance."
She also dished on her experience with Trump, although she does not consider participating in a show "he was organizing and financing" as "working with him". But she was quite impressed by the current president during her time on the contest, of which she shared, "From my experience, I discovered him being very nice and very professional."
Martini says, however, that she does not have any "political views or preferences" with regards to Trump's policies. "In terms of day by day observations, I can only see pluses and minuses as we can probably see [on] a daily basis to everyone. I am not the type to approve or criticize economical or political decisions, it’s out of my realm of experience and expertise. In terms of chances, I’ve learned that in the United States, everything is possible. This is one of the things that makes me love this country so much!"
During her interview, the accomplished model, who was signed by agency bigwigs by the time she was 18, shed light on her upcoming book, which largely talks about her mother and her struggles back in the day. "Once upon a time, a baby girl was born in the middle of the road in an Albanian village. Once up[on] a time that baby girl grew up to have a baby girl of her own. They loved each other very much and lived together in Albania—until they were separated by social upheaval and civil war," an anecdote from her upcoming book, she narrated.
She continued, "The mother sent her daughter to safety in another country. I’ll be there soon, the mother said. I’ll be right behind you. But this reunion took far longer than either of them would have ever imagined. They pined for each other. They worried about each other. They cried themselves to sleep. The mother struggled in ways she can’t bear to mention. The daughter struggled in ways she can’t bear to mention. Still, both managed to forge ahead."
Opening up further about her relationship with her mother, Martini admitted that given the hardships she saw her mother go through in life, if the model was ever put in the same position, she wouldn't know how to cope. "Very probable, if I would have been put in such a position, I would have failed or I would have chosen a different way," she told MEAWW.
"You just need to believe in you and your destiny and to never victimize yourself! As a believer in real love, I have my own quote to share with the readers as well: Love and live each time as you’ve never been hurt before," she added.
Martini additionally spoke about what she wants from her readers, with respect to their approach towards the book, and the lessons that her readers can take away from the experiences mentioned. "One of the main lessons I would like to share with the readers is that fear is an illusion and probably your biggest enemy," she said.
As for her future projects, Martini said, "The most interesting project I am working right now on is probably my second book. It’s a self-help book about relationships, based on my psychology and understanding about love."
She elaborated, "Another two projects I am involved in are two short films that I produced, with strong different messages I want to share with the world. One of them is about the philosophical idea of immortality, inspired by the ancient civilization of Sumerians. The second movie is about women trafficking, inspired by a true story. It happened to be in trend with the new women movements."
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