Amanda Byram photographed at the launch of Brown Sugar, Blackrock

I've been trying to move home for a couple of years now. I was pretty settled in LA; I'd bought a place and was living with my boyfriend (cameraman Matt Novello). But we broke up last year, and even though work was going really well there, I got to thinking, 'I'm turning 35; either I can stay here and have kids here, or I could go home.'

live tv presenting feels like my forte. I'm used to it. I remember doing Miss World and saying a line about how 3.5 billion people were watching. That was a real 'oh s**t!' moment. I guess when it comes to the Meteors, because I'm back on home soil there's a little more pressure. I'm the first female presenter too, and they've all been comedians before, which is a worry!

I was 34 and single last year and there was a feeling that I could settle and be happy, but I'm not sure I'd have been 100% content. There's definitely an element of 'will I ever find the one?' when you hit your 30s. I'd worry about settling for second best because underneath it all I'm a real romantic. I met Craig at my best friend's wedding, and after all these years I see what people meant when they used to say, 'ah, you just know when it feels right'. All I know for now is that I'm very happy at the moment, more so than I've been in any relationship. He's in the south of France now, so we've made a rule never to be apart for more than two weeks.

In los angeles, you'd be standing in a supermarket queue, sitting in traffic, at the gym, and guys would ask you out. It sounds great but it was awful! I've left a few girlfriends back in LA, and it was a bit like being in Lost, and leaving them deserted on the island. We're living in the age of Google which is a nightmare. I went on one date and the guy kept bringing up all this stuff I'd said about men in the past. Horrible!

I've always been into exercise – I had the Jane Fonda video back when I was 15 – but in LA there's an overexposure to it. Having modelled I always felt quite confident about my body, but I began to feel quite miserable about myself out there. My mum would say, 'What has happened to you?' It really did get the better of me. I had to realise I wasn't the skinniest or most beautiful but I could offer what I had to offer.

I gave up modelling in Ireland 10 years ago so I don't know how the Irish scene is right now. I know it's easy to think that our day was special, and some of the photographers will comment that it's not the same now as it used to be. However, I think the girls today take it more seriously and they're much more professional, whereas we probably had more fun with it.