Hunter McGrady decided to "learn about [her] body" after facing rejection.

The 28-year-old star has recalled being rejected for a modelling job, and she admits that her career has been a roller-coaster ride.

She shared: "The last straw was when I booked a job and was like, ‘I’m the thinnest I’ve ever been. This is fabulous'.

"I walk in and everyone’s staring at me. The producer comes over and is like, ‘Listen, we have to talk to you. We didn’t realise how big you were.’ It was a stretchy T-shirt company. They didn’t even give me an option to try anything on - they just said they wouldn’t work with me.

"After that, I told my mom I didn’t want to do it anymore. I was really feeling it emotionally - and dealing with anxiety and depression."

Hunter subsequently turned to therapy, and she now looks back on the setback as a "building block" in her career.

The blonde beauty told Health magazine: "Mentally, I knew I needed help.

"I really had to strip away everything I had been told and had learned. I look back and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s sad.’ But it’s also the first building block of the career I have now. I really had to learn about my body and learn how to nourish it and love it again."

Hunter ultimately drew inspiration from other plus-size models.

The curvaceous star - who featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2017 - said: "They were plus-size models - I didn’t even know that was a thing.

"During my time off, I had grown physically and mentally. I thought, ‘These girls look like me now.’ So, I went to Wilhelmina Models, and they signed me."