Former Model Girlfriend of Gaddafi's Son Speaks Out, Gets Fired
A supermodel and former girlfriend of the son of Muammar Gaddafi is the victim of public scrutiny because of a revealing interview about the Gaddaffi family that got her fired as the face of a prominent international telecommunications company.
Italian-American supermodel Vanessa Hessler, 23, had a 4-year romantic relationship with national security adviser Mutassim Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi’s 34-year-old son. Libyan rebels shot Mutassim to death last month on the same day as his father was killed in Sirte.
In an interview with the Italian magazine Diva e Donna, Hessler said, "The Gaddafi family is not how they are being depicted, they are normal people," she said. "I didn't have contact with him since the uprising broke out, but our relationship was one of passion."
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Newsweek reported that her well paying gig with the telecommunications company abruptly dropped the model shortly after her tell-all question and answer session hit newsstands.
In the Italian interview, Hessler is described as "crying for Libya," and she told the magazine that the rebels are "people who don't know what they're doing."
Fetsch said Hessler's likeness will be removed from all of its ads. "Vanessa Hessler's relationships are private business," the company's PR department tweeted. "However we cannot accept her comments on the Lybia [sic] conflict."
She called her formerly under-the-radar relationship with Mutassim a "very beautiful love story." Mutassim is allegedly known for the lavish gifts, vacations and beauty treatments he bestowed upon his high profile model girlfriends.
According to Newsweek, One Model Management in New York is now representing 23-year-old Hessler. She is referred to as "Alice" in German households and is on many billboards in Germany and has appeared in Gilli, Baby Star and Nara Camicle campaigns.
In 2010, the 5-foot-10 model participated in the 2010 Prada Fall/Winter fashion show. Later this year, she is expected to appear as Aurora in an Italian version of Cinderella.
