Amanda Ware won Australia's Next Top Model after TV's most awkward mix-up. This is her life now.

"It all comes down to this moment," said Sarah Murdoch, in a cadence that is only reserved for a reality television finale.

"Australia's next top model for 2010 is…"

A staccato heartbeat drum, followed by an uncomfortably long silence.

And then…

"It's you, Kelsey."

The crowd erupted.

In disbelief, 19-year-old victor Kelsey Martinovich turned to hug the runner-up, 17-year-old Amanda Ware, and then the host herself.

"How do you feel?" Sarah asked. "You must have so many people to thank."

Kelsey agreed, thanking her fellow contestants, the crew, the judges, and finally Sarah. The presenter then turned to Amanda for her concession speech.

But as the 17-year-old began her own thank yous, a troubled look befell Sarah.

"Oh my God, I don't know what to say right now," began the former model. "I'm feeling a bit sick about this. No. I'm so sorry about this."

Kelsey, seemingly catching on before anyone else, let out a sigh, a smile, and turned to Amanda.

"I don't know what to say," Sarah continued during the live broadcast. "This was a complete accident…

"It's Amanda, I'm so sorry. It was fed to me wrong."

Watch: Sarah Murdoch announces the wrong winner on 'Australia's Next Top Model' in 2010. Post continues after video.

As the stunned audience realised the wrong winner had been crowned, Kelsey sprung into action, graciously congratulating the 17-year-old and reassuring the host in the wake of the blunder.

"Oh God. This is what happens when you have live TV, folks. This is insane. Insane, insane, insane," added a visibly shaken Sarah.

The headlines that followed were sceptical, with critics suggesting the whole thing was a stunt to generate publicity for Australia's Next Top Model.

While publicity was certainly generated — the story even made news overseas — host Sarah was adamant that it was an authentic mistake.

"You can see how close we are to the girls," she later told Nine's A Current Affair. "You would never put your worst enemy in a situation like that, let alone these gorgeous girls. It was a genuine miscommunication."

Until the moment in question, she said, everything had been going smoothly. All night, producers were communicating successfully through her ear-piece.

"Kelsey one, Amanda two," was the last thing Sarah heard before she prepared to announce the winner.

"I went into the read: 'The winner of Australia's Next Top Model is... nothing. Nothing," she recalled. "It was going to be communicated through my ear, and it didn't come at that moment, so I went with what I had been told."

Then, amid celebrations and speeches, Sarah heard the name 'Amanda' through her earpiece. Her heart dropped.

"It was just communicated to me on a card in front of me," she said. "It was disbelief. I just couldn't believe this was happening."

Along with Sarah, the network and both teenage finalists denied that the moment was orchestrated.

"There's absolutely no way that this was a stunt because it was a genuine, honest mistake," Amanda told media after the fact, as per the ABC.

"You saw the look on Sarah Murdoch's face, it was absolute devastation. Sarah Murdoch would never do that to anybody."

While Kelsey had just had the Top Model title stripped from her, the 19-year-old said she felt more sorry for the presenter than herself.

"I just looked at Sarah and realised there'd been a big mistake and felt like I needed to give her a big hug or something," she said.

As compensation for their mistake, the network gave Kelsey $20,000 of the winnings and a trip to New York. For its November issue, Harper's Bazaar also featured both Amanda and Kelsey on the cover.

In 2010, Sarah Murdoch mistakenly crowned Kelsey as the winner of Australia's Next Top Model. Image: Fox8

Where is Amanda Ware from Australia's Next Top Model now?

On the heels of ANTM, Amanda Ware signed a contract with Priscilla's Model Management, and a three-year contract with Elite Model Management in New York City.

She made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2011, where she walked in six shows, for designers like Phillip Lim, L'Wren Scott, and Chado Ralph Rucci. 

In her first full season, the teenager walked in a total of 17 shows, and later appeared in London and Paris Fashion Weeks.

But while everything appeared to be glitz, glamour, and luxury labels, Amanda was struggling with depression behind the scenes.

While filming the reality show, Amanda said she avoided speaking to the show's psychologist due to the stigma surrounding mental health. But when the 18-year-old was thrust into the world of modelling and balancing a life split between Sydney and New York, she knew she needed to seek help.

"I was exhausted, I was so upset and couldn't function basically," she told the Back From Reality podcast in 2020. "The psychologist said it was kind of 'situational depression' ... I didn't have a routine, which is what the last 18 years of my life had been.

"My sessions were just about how to move on past the show because, obviously, you're in this environment for however long, and they do have the support for you afterwards, but you're kind of just made to feel, 'Get on with it, get on with your life and enjoy it.'"

Five years later, at the age of 23, Amanda left runway modelling, telling the Daily Telegraph that the industry was "lonely".

Instead, she turned her sights to yoga, fitness, and studying osteotherapy, as per her Instagram bio. 

In 2013, she began dating film director Jack Lawrence, and the pair tied the knot in 2019.

"I came to Hawaii a Ware and now I'm leaving a Lawrence," Amanda wrote on Instagram at the time. "Ready to start this amazing new chapter with you."

Three years later, Amanda and Jack welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Thomas. 

Amanda shares a son Thomas with her husband Jack. Image: Instagram/@amanda.ware1

"Welcome to the world Thomas Scott Lawrence 11/10/2022 💙," the Top Model alum wrote on Instagram. "Mummy and Daddy love you so much and we're so happy you decided to arrive a week early 🥰❤️ let the adventure begin."

Now 32, Amanda recently made her return to modelling, but described it as a "humbling" experience to dive back in.

"My body was different and I had to learn how to love it again. And when your job is based off your looks.. it can be a long old road," she wrote on Instagram.

Recently, the Gold Coast local walked for the Brisbane Fashion Festival and modelled for Seafolly Australia.

While Amanda acknowledges she wouldn't be where she is without Australia's Next Top Model, which ended in 2016, she isn't sure if the show should return to screens.

"It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but I was able to go on this show and create a new life for myself," she said on the Confessions of a Reality Star podcast.

"In saying that, I find that I have a really big issue with people monetising off people's pain. So if girls were to go on it today, I think they'd be a lot more savvy. Teenagers of today are a lot more ahead in growth. You see these teenagers on TikTok, they're super confident."

She went on to say that, if the show was to return, she'd "love to mentor those girls". 

"I'd love to be there for them and support them. I think I'd like to support people so they don't feel as out-of-depth as I did."

And, though it was 15 years ago, Amanda can't escape being asked about the finale night blunder. She remembers it in excruciating detail.

"I remember this moment distinctly of my heart pounding at my chest," the model said on the podcast. "Then [Sarah] says, 'The winner is Kelsey'. Then you see my head flick to the right, and then… cameras were on me, my name rolls up on the teleprompter and my picture's behind me.

"To this day, I still can't tell you what actually went wrong. Was it a publicity stunt? I've been asked that many, many times. I don't know. I don't think Sarah was in on it because she was sheet white, and you could hear them scream at her 'the winner's Amanda!' Like, how did they just not feed it to her? And then apparently they got fired. So it wasn't a very good ploy, if that was their mission."

Feature Image: Fox8/Instagram/@amanda.ware1