Grand Cayman’s Selita Ebanks on ‘Owning’ Her 40s (Exclusive)

Selita Ebanks wants women to join her in making the most of their 40s.

The supermodel and entrepreneur takes it back to her roots on the new reality series Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, giving a peek at her busy work life and how she lets loose with friends on the island.

Ebanks tells PEOPLE, though, she was hesitant at first about signing on to do the show, and her age was one of the sticking points for her. (It involved “a lot of meditation, grounding and prayer” to officially agree to the show, she explains.)

“It took a lot for me to accept and love myself enough to be on the show,” she says, adding, “Believe it or not I was going through a lot of insecurities about being on the show, you know, nitpicking myself.”

“I think my age, definitely, was a big part of that,” says Ebanks, now 41. “You know, turning 40 and owning it. It was really odd because literally it was like a light switch — my ‘no-effs’ went off. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m an adult. I’m grown.’ This is who I am. I’m going to own it.”

The former Victoria’s Secret Angel, who has also appeared on The Challenge, says after dealing with that struggle “internally,” it’s “so gratifying” to see herself grow onscreen now.

And, she says, “I hope other women will watch it and go out there and try all the things and be their best self. And f— it: If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. If it does, it does.”

Partying with her Grand Cayman costars came with a learning curve for Ebanks, who jokes she “wasn’t prepared for the tequila intake” filming with them.

“I tried really hard not to be Mama Selita,” says Ebanks, “because I didn’t want to be Debbie Downer. I wanted everybody to have a good time — just responsibly.”

Ebanks, who made the leap to modeling at 17, was born in New York but was raised partly in the Cayman Islands, where her mother is from.

She says the “diverse” and “beautiful” island makes for a unique reality show location, and it came with some “pressure” to get it right for audiences to watch all over the world.

“As locals, we want to represent our island in the best way possible,” Ebanks says. “But, we are still human and we’re just like anyone anywhere else. Life be life-ing! We just gotta navigate it like anyone else.”

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New episodes of Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise air Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on Freeform and streams the next day on Hulu.