Tyra Banks can’t bring herself to see what’s left of her former home. Months after wildfires destroyed the Los Angeles property she shared with partner Louis Belanger-Martin, the supermodel admits she’s keeping the house alive in her memory by refusing to visit the site.
The revelation came during a recent conversation with PageSix, where Banks opened up about the emotional barrier preventing her return. She explained that in her mind, the home still exists exactly as it was before the flames took everything.
When Banks first returned to Los Angeles about a month after the January disaster, she wanted to see the property but couldn’t access it. Authorities had blocked off the entire area, barring even residents from entering. What started as an impossible visit has become a choice she’s made for her own peace of mind.
Distance brings different grief
Banks was in Australia when her world changed. She was at a friend’s party, enjoying the celebration while constantly checking her phone. Initially, she wasn’t worried about her own property but was monitoring updates to make sure friends and family were evacuating safely.
Then she noticed something specific on her screen. She asked Belanger-Martin about it, and his silent response told her everything. Rather than create a scene or shift attention to herself, Banks stayed composed through the rest of the gathering. She didn’t tell their friends what had just happened.
The tears came later, in private. Back at their accommodation, away from everyone else, the couple finally let themselves feel the weight of losing their home. That moment of delayed grief was just the beginning of a healing process that continues today.
Choosing silence over spotlight
For months, Banks deliberately avoided discussing the fire publicly. When she finally addressed it on the Australian morning show Sunrise, she explained her reasoning. She felt uncomfortable drawing attention to her own loss when so many others needed help and support more urgently.
Banks was candid about the difficulty of sitting through an interview without acknowledging the truth. She admitted the loss but framed it within the larger context of community devastation. Her celebrity status, she recognized, came with a responsibility to think beyond her personal experience.
The wildfires that swept through Southern California in January were catastrophic. More than 400 people died, and thousands of properties were reduced to ash and rubble. The scale of destruction created trauma that extended far beyond those who lost homes, affecting entire communities still working to rebuild.
A community of loss
Banks wasn’t alone among celebrities who faced this particular devastation. Mel Gibson, Billy Crystal and Paris Hilton also lost their homes in the fires. Hilton responded by creating an online fundraising campaign to support others affected by the disaster, particularly those without the resources to start over easily.
The celebrity angle generated conversation about privilege and recovery. Some questioned why famous people’s losses received so much coverage when regular families were suffering just as much, if not more. Others argued that high-profile victims brought necessary attention and resources to the broader crisis.
Holding memory close
Banks continues to grapple with what it means to lose a home. It’s not just about the building or the belongings inside. The house represented her life with Belanger-Martin, holding memories and moments that can’t be recreated or replaced.
By keeping the image of her intact home in her mind, Banks preserves something the fire can’t touch. She’s not ready to replace that mental picture with the reality of destruction. Whether she’ll eventually feel prepared to visit remains uncertain.
Her approach reflects how differently people process traumatic loss. There’s no timeline for grief, no correct way to move through it. Some survivors need to see the damage to accept it. Others, like Banks, need distance to protect themselves from overwhelming pain.
The psychological toll of losing a home extends beyond material loss. It disrupts a sense of safety and permanence that most people take for granted. For Banks, maintaining her mental version of the house offers a kind of stability while she figures out how to move forward.
For now, she’s taking it one day at a time, keeping her home alive in the only place it still exists.