Sunday Life’s new agony aunt Fiona Hurley is a former Miss Northern Ireland, a qualified hypnotherapist and psychology graduate, and is happily planning her wedding to her boyfriend of four years.

She’s got all the credentials an agony aunt needs: she’s a good listener, makes people feel at ease and has the qualifications and life experience to give sensible advice.

But despite being content and cheerful with a great sense of humour, Fiona also understands what it’s like to struggle with problems.

While she may look as though she hasn’t a care in the world, she admits she’s battled depression and low self esteem for years.

As a young model in London she dieted to be as slim as other girls and confesses she was on the verge of an eating disorder.

“All through my life I have suffered bouts of depression —- not clinical depression, not as serious as that — but I have had periods of depression. It is seen as the common cold of mental illness,” she said.

In 1996 Fiona’s life changed dramatically when she was crowned Miss Northern Ireland two weeks before she graduated from Queen’s.

While she had intended to continue her psychology studies, she decided to make the most of the opportunities coming her way.

She explains: “I got a good bit of modelling work and worked all around the world, and it just seemed to go on for 10 or 12 years!”

Winning the title opened many doors and she’s since worked here and in Syria, Dubai, Uzbekistan, Lebanon and the USA.

Her time in Lebanon happened by chance.

“A friend of mine was an air hostess for Saudi Airlines and she was happy that her best friend had won Miss Northern Ireland. She told a guy who turned out to be from an advertising agency. He said ‘that’s interesting — from west Belfast to Beirut’.

“So I went over there and I loved it. The people asked me where I was from and when I said Belfast they said ‘oh Belfast, boom boom, very dangerous’!”

While she was there she caught the eye of the Lebanese mafia leader’s son.

She recalled: “The people I was with were terrified of him, but I thought you have to take a person as he is.

“He had been shot through the face and they said ‘whatever you do, don’t mention his face’.

“But I said to him ‘what happened? Did you cut yourself shaving?’ And he said ‘no, I was shot’.

“I’m trivialising it, but I was young and I didn’t realise the gravity of the situation.”

The man insisted that Fiona and her party joined him for lunch in a mountain hideaway in Syria and she said the scene was “like a something from the Godfather”.

“His men came and insisted that we went. It was mad.

“He was trying to insist that I stay there and that it was manners for me to stay with him, but I said I’m sorry I have to go and do a promotion!

“I think he let it go because he thought she’s quite innocent. I felt sorry for him which probably wasn’t a smart move!

“He just looked so pathetic and so skinny.

“He just seemed so lonely. I’ve wised up a bit now, but I would still have quite a nurturing nature and I like to comfort people if they are sad or lonely or depressed.”

Fiona also worked in Dubai for an advertising agency for a few months, but hated it because people thought she was a Russian prostitute.

“I kept getting asked in the street, how much I cost. I couldn’t wait to get home.”

Despite being a constantly sought after model, Fiona said she never considered herself attractive.

“I always thought it was a fluke that I’d won Miss NI or or that the judges just liked me as a person,” she admitted.

After Miss Northern Ireland, Fiona moved to London to pursue her modelling career and her dreams of getting a job in broadcasting, but was unhappy when confronted with the high octane lifestyle that went hand in hand with the industry.

“I hated the whole modelling scene there.

“It was totally fake and everyone was so competitive.

“They were stick thin and anorexic, and although I was never told to lose weight I was hardly eating anything to try and fit in.

“I didn’t want to be going to castings as the ‘big bird’.

“I was verging on having an eating disorder probably because I was having a cereal in the morning and salad at night and running round all day — I became quite sick and run down.”

Fiona also hated the social scene.

“I became friends with a couple of models, but I never really gelled with them.

“They would take me out and there would be all these old men, vastly rich businessmen all sitting buying — as they said — ‘shampoo and charlie’ and I thought ‘wise up, I’ll have a bottle of Bud please’.

“I wasn’t buying into it at all.

“That’s what the London scene is. It made me feel dirty or something — that sounds weird — but it made me feel cheap and I knew I had so much more to offer.”

After just a few months she came home for a weekend and didn’t go back.

“There were plenty of opportunities here where I wouldn’t have to put myself in the situation where I needed to starve myself or act fake or go with old men because they would buy you clothes.”

Two years ago, despite still being a highly sought after model, Fiona decided to leave modelling.

“I’ll be 34 this month and I just thought I was working with 16-year-olds. It wasn’t as if I was comparing myself to them, but I thought where’s my life going?

“I was stuck in a rut and I didn’t know how to move out of it or how to move forward.

“I was quite depressed about the whole situation. I decided I was going to go into full-

time employment working with health care professionals in primary care.

“I think I stayed in modelling so long because I didn’t think I was good enough to go on for anything else.

“It was the easy option for me because I didn’t want to leave my comfort zone.

“It’s only through studying that I realised I had low self esteem and that I had been suffering from that for quite a while all through my life.”

Fiona’s now finalising the plans for her wedding. She admits, however, it’s not the first time she’s been engaged.

She’s reluctant to talk about her previous relationship as she explains she doesn’t want to disrespect her fiance John West.

“I was engaged twice before — but to the same man.

“It was just very briefly twice before, but then I realised that it wasn’t the right thing.

“ It wasn’t right for either of us and thankfully I met John straightaway and that was us!”

In the meantime she’s looking forward to helping give advice to Sunday Life readers.

“I’m a good listener and I think that’s so important.

“So many people are butting in and wanting to get their side across and no-one really listens.

“I’ve always been very interested in human behaviour. I’ve always wanted to comfort people. I know that sounds so corny, but I think I take it after my parents — they’ve always been that way.”