The 21-year-old, who appears on the cover of the Seventeen magazine as well as in a six-page fashion and beauty layout as part of the show winnings, revealed that the relationship almost shattered her confidence.
"Before I got into that relationship, I had a good head on my shoulders and walked with my head up high,” the People quoted Gonzalez, as telling Seventeen magazine.
"But during that relationship, things went down little by little. It was such a dark moment in my life. It was horrible!" she said.
The model who also got a contract with Elite modeling agency and a 100,000-dollar deal with CoverGirl, as part of winning the show, earlier ‘gave up’ on her aspirations but came out of her tensions with her perseverance.
"I wasn't having my rest or eating the food I wanted to eat. So I mentally gave up, but I still did what I had to do. I think perseverance is the key to success. There were so many roadblocks for me, but I overcame them all,” she said.
As to what advice the model has to offer to people in abusive relationships, Gonzalez said that one should always discuss things with people who will understand.
"I can give so much advice, but it starts within yourself. You need to get help. Talk to somebody, because once you talk about it, you hear it, and then you understand what you're going through. That's what it took for me to let go,” she said.
Gonzalez, who won the Top Model hunt on cycle 8 of the show insisted that she has come a long way and grown up, although at one point of time she lost her confidence.
"I couldn't believe how mature, strong, and confident I've grown. I definitely broke down along the way though,” she said.
Gonzalez was referred to by the judges as both a Janice Dickinson look alike and a drag queen and she became the series' first full Latina winner.
