Tyra Banks is sharing the truth behind her TV “persona.”

The model and host, 50, opened up to PEOPLE about how in the past, her on-camera self didn’t reflect her true personality.

“I had a persona on TV that was totally different than who I am in real life,” she said. “In real life, I have a lot of difficulty with giving feedback, like at work. I used to have to have a coach train me on how to say, “Well, you could have done this better.’”

She continued, “Now I’ve learned that giving people feedback, whether it’s people that you work with or your family or your friends, helps them and it helps your relationship. It’s like therapy for your relationship so that you can continue to keep that conversation going and stuff.”

Banks was the host of the modeling competition series America’s Next Top Model from 2003 to 2018. While she became known for her over-the-top personality and meme-able moments, she now tells PEOPLE that it was all “a character.”

“It’s a character,” she says. “It’s not me in real life at all.”

Banks adds that the show, which sought to break the long held barriers of the modeling world, was “so ahead of our time.”

Twiggy, J. Alexander, Tyra Banks, and Nigel Barker.MICHAEL YARISH/CBS PHOTO ARCHIVE/GETTY

“We were attacked in a way, way back in the day for being different, for casting people that didn’t look like everybody else,” she says.

For the cycle 9 of ANTM, Banks cast models under 5’7, the standard minimum height for modeling. The series eventually welcomed plus size models as well, a decision that Banks says was questioned.

“People were like, ‘What are you doing that for?’” she reflects. “We couldn’t even find clothes for them when they were going on auditions because it didn’t exist in the fashion industry. So it was a lot of knocking down doors. But now the door’s busted open, thank God.”

While trailblazing, ANTM had its fair share of controversial moments.

Model Janice Dickinson, who served as a judge for several seasons, has come under fire for her harsh critiques and off-color remarks.

Like Banks, Dickinson has said that she was playing a character on the show. In September 2022, she responded to a fan’s question asking if she had “any regrets” about her time on ANTM.

“Um, no. It was acting. And that’s that,” said in an Instagram reel, adding in the caption, “People forget that TV is acting.”

Tyra Banks poses for PEOPLE’s 2024 Beautiful Issue in a custom feathered corset by Luv Label by Niz Yashar.ROBIN HARPER

In recent years, ANTM clips have begun to resurface, shedding light on the problematic aspects of the show.

In May 2020, Banks responded to criticism in a since-deleted tweet reading, “Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you.”

“Looking back, those were some really off choices,” she continued. “Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.”