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Sophie Monk goes geek: ‘I was never the popular girl’

There’s more to this beauty than meets the eye
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She maintains she’s not very book smart, but you only have to take a quick look at Sophie Monk’s workload over the past two decades to know she means serious business.

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From Hollywood to reality TV and high-profile endorsements, Sophie has been busy making us laugh – and her latest hosting role on Nine’s Beauty and the Geek promises to get us cackling!

WATCH: First look at Beauty and the Geek 2021

On set with New Idea, Sophie, who rose to fame on TV’s Popstars, reveals that, underneath her blonde locks and perfectly tinted eyebrows, she’s really one big dork!

“They said to me, ‘we would love you to do the show because you’re a bit of a geek,’ and I was like, ‘well, yes … but I’m actually a dork!’” she says, quickly clarifying the two.

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“Geeks are book smart, and I’m definitely not that, but deep down I think most people have both sides – we all have an inner geek,” she explains. “I’m a dork …a bit of a clown, you know I might trip over or do something silly.”

Sophie Monk
On set with New Idea, Sophie, who rose to fame on TV’s Popstars, reveals that, underneath her blonde locks and perfectly tinted eyebrows, she’s really one big dork! (Credit: New Idea)

Despite her signature self-deprecating sense of humour, there’s no clowning around or tumbles when Sophie steps in front of our cameras, so it’s easy to see how she’s topped endless ‘Sexiest People’ lists and graced many magazine covers.

But beauty wasn’t always the case for the 41-year-old actress. “I was never the popular girl,” she reveals.

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“I was friendly with everyone at high school because I was funny and had that goofy personality, but I wasn’t in that cool-girl clique. I remember, I used to cheat off the geeks a lot, until they started realising that. Then, they all started putting their arms up to cover their answers – too smart for me!” she says, revealing she, like so many others, ran into bullying troubles.

“I think once I hit hormones, I got quite curvy … I was a dancer and I got picked on by boys … that’s what they do at that age,” she muses.

Sophie Monk
Beauty wasn’t always the case for the 41-year-old actress. “I was never the popular girl,” she reveals. (Credit: New Idea)

“I was actually very sensitive at school, I took on people’s emotions too much, and would go home and worry and not sleep. I think that’s where I developed my sense of humour and why I learnt to be funny,” she explains.

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One boy who certainly has Sophie’s tick of approval is her fiancé, Joshua Gross.

“We’re definitely opposites, but it works!” she confesses of her partner, who she met on a chance encounter during a flight to Los Angeles in 2018.

“He’s very, very book smart and retains knowledge. I’m definitely not book smart, I promise you. I’m not joking …I don’t even read!” she laughs.

“I don’t have to – I somehow got away with having a career where I don’t have to, and now at my age, it’s not going to happen.”

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Sophie Monk
“I was friendly with everyone at high school because I was funny and had that goofy personality, but I wasn’t in that cool-girl clique.” (Credit: New Idea)

While fans shouldn’t expect to see Josh and Sophie reading together, they are headed for the chapel, with the couple confirming their engagement in January after months of rumours.

“We’re a good team,” tells Sophie, who reveals they love nothing more than jumping into their slippers and playing virtual reality video games at home together – a side most might not expect of the star.

“It’s hard for me to tell what people think of me because I don’t get out enough!” she quips. “I feel like I read a lot of bad comments online, but I love everybody,” she tells, insisting while she might not be everybody’s cup of tea, she’s always herself.

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“Good or bad, if I’m myself, I don’t have to pretend or apologise – that’s how I do things anyway.”

Read more in this week’s issue of New Idea, on sale now. 

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