Model Coco Rocha has 1.8 million contacts on Google Plus, nearly a half million Twitter followers, and 299,258 Instagram followers, but very few know of the high profile model's devout religious beliefs.
“My faith is everything,” Rocha, 24, declares in the new issue of Du Jour magazine about being a lifelong Jehova's Witness.
“There aren’t many Witnesses who are in the public eye. I can’t even name any,” laments Rocha, "It’s hard sometimes when you’re there alone. You’re not there with someone who can hold your hand and say we’ll do this together.”
One person who will hold the model's hand is her husband who manages her career -- and is also a Jehova's Witness.
Together, the two go door to door with their congregation on a weekly basis to educate people about their faith.
"Some people think we’re a pushy religion, but if you’re not interested, just say so," says Rocha
Rocha has been a Jehovah’s Witness her entire life, but she wasn’t baptized until 2009 at the age of 21. (The religion requires that followers be old enough to make their own decisions before fully committing.)
Once committed, Rocha changed her modeling contract to include many new clauses listing things she was no longer comfortable with, such as nudity, lingerie and sheer clothing, among other things.
“My list [of what I won’t do] compared with any other model’s is insane," Rocha explains. "No religious artifacts, no government artifacts. If I’m shooting with a male model, what is he exactly doing with me? What is he wearing? If I’m working with other models, what are they wearing? Are they playing something that I don’t want?”
“In the beginning, the clients would say, ‘This is too much,’ but over time, the ones I liked kept working with me. They’d say, ‘It’s not too much. Coco can still be Coco. She still gives 100 percent when she’s on a photo shoot.’ It’s just my boobs aren’t out. And I don’t have a cigarette in my hand, and I’m not making out with a guy. And it’s all fine if you want to do that. I don’t judge. My besties do Victoria’s Secret. I just don’t do it.”
But apparently dancing is still A-OK. Check out Rocha in the below commercial for White House Black Market clothing chain:
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