Name a more iconic reality TV duo from the early 2000s than Tyra Banks and Jay Manuel? Yeah, we'll wait. The pair were a powerhouse creative duo and from the outside seemed like the closest of friends both on and off the set of America's Next Top Model. Then all of sudden, they weren't friends. So what really happened between these two? And where is their friendship now?
Tyra starred alongside Nigel Barker and Miss J. Alexander to form the core judging panel of America's Next Top Model (ANTM to those in the know), the model reality competition show, produced by Tyra and Ken Mok, and Jay Manuel served as the series creative director.
ANTM is now the focus of a new Netflix documentary—Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model—that not only focuses on the creation and later demise of the series, but also the real lives of the women who took part in the show, and of course the relationships between the judges, including the end of Jay and Tyra's friendship.
So what happened? Here's everything to know about Tyra and Jay's friendship and where they are now.
What happened with Jay and Tyra on America’s Next Top Model?
As mentioned in the documentary series, Jay started out his career as a makeup, and formed a friendship and working relationship with Tyra as her makeup artist. When she began the creation of ANTM, Jay was brought in as the creative director to produce the photoshoots the models would be taking part in.
Along with Nigel Barker and Miss Jay, the four of them formed a close bond and, as shown in the docuseries, hung out together, watched the first show come out together, and were friends on and off screen.
After eight cycles Jay felt his time on the show was up. He described in the documentary how ANTM had, "evolved in a way I had never expected" and he didn't feel like he recognized the version of himself on TV.
He said about thinking about quitting for a long time, referencing how he "tortured" himself over the decision he sent Tyra a long email explaining his decision to quit the show. Jay then claimed Tyra responded three days later with just the words: "I am disappointed."
Jay went onto claim he was asked to complete another cycle of the show and when he returned to the show, claimed Tyra did not speak to him off camera, despite their onscreen interactions where she would ask for his opinion on models, etc.
When asked by Netflix's documentary crew if she wished to speak on the situation with herself and Jay, Tyra refused to comment, saying only, "I should call Jay. I don't want to do this here. But he's a special man."
Jay ended up staying on the show up until cycle 18 in 2012, when after this, he, Nigel and Miss Jay were all let go from the show, a decision Tyra claims was not hers to be made.
During the docuseries, Tyra and Ken claimed it was the head of the network—Mark Pedowitz, at the time—who suggested the other three judges were not to be part of the show anymore and were to be replaced.
Following his time on the show, Jay didn't say much about his relationship with Tyra, up until 2020 when during the COVID-19 pandemic the world became obsessed with the show again.
In 2020, Jay revealed during an interview with Variety, he was planning to write a novel inspired by his time on the show called The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown, which has since been released.
During his interview with the publication, Jay revealed he and Tyra had emailed on occasion over the years, and the last time they had seen each other was during an event in 2017.
He then added of their relationship then, "To be very honest, we really have no relationship to speak of, which is really sad. Our time together on ANTM was amazingly productive and, at times, magical. We got to experience being part of a global phenomenon.”
Where are Jay and Tyra now?
As alluded to in the documentary, the pair don't appear to be on speaking terms.
During a 2026 interview with Interview in line with the release of the documentary, Jay revealed the pair are still not in communication, telling the publication, "Even though we don’t speak, I have a level of understanding and respect for her history."
And that phone call Tyra said the pair would have? Well, Jay revealed he's still waiting for it.
"No. I don’t think she would [call], but you know what? I would be absolutely ready to sit down with her," he said when asked if Tyra had called him. "I’m in a very healed space now, so if she wanted to sit down and have tea, I would do it."
Despite the lack of communication between the pair, Jay added he didn't want people to villainize his former friend, saying, "My life was changed for good because of her, and I don’t want people to think of her as a villain because I don’t, at all."
Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model is available on Netflix.
