Many people assume that a supermodel who has spent most of her life posing for pretty pictures would have, well, a model life. But the truth is that I’ve stared into the face of death more than once. [Her sister passed away suddenly at age 17 from a rare heart disease—arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia—and six years later, in 2001, Niki was in a near fatal car accident.] What got me through these tough times was my faith—and my twin boys, Hunter and Jake, now 13. I knew I wanted to be a mom from the time I was 13. So when I got married, I figured, why waste time? When I found out I was having twins, I instinctively knew they were boys. I wasn’t scared—just excited that I was going to be a mother. I loved being pregnant! I felt great, and I modeled right up until my seventh month, when I was put on bed rest. I was 19 when I delivered the boys and weighed almost 200 pounds! Three months later, I was back at work. I had lost the extra weight through diet and exercise and flew to the fashion shows in Europe. I was there for two weeks, which was hard because I didn’t want to be away from my babies, but I knew it was time for me to find that balance between work and motherhood. After the shows, though, I wanted to go back to being a mom, so I didn’t want to travel too much. Luckily, I was living in South Florida, and a lot of photographers would come there to work with me. Being able to work locally was especially important after my divorce. When my marriage to the father of the twins ended [after a few years], I was suddenly a single mom. During the time my marriage was ending and my sister passed away, I could have easily fallen apart. Instead, I let my faith guide me. When you lose someone you love, you start to wonder what life is all about—and I realized it’s about helping others be the best they can be. That’s one of the reasons I started the “begin Foundation,” which helps women start their own businesses by enabling them to have access to the same expertise and funding opportunities as other entrepreneurs, regardless of educational or economic backgrounds. I also launched a perfume—begin—in 2005, and 20 percent of the proceeds from that went directly to the foundation. It was always my heart’s desire to remarry and have more kids, but I just hadn’t found the right guy—until the day I met Burney Lamar. We were introduced at a NASCAR event—he’s a race car driver. We spent the day signing autographs, and when we left the event, I said to a friend, “That’s my husband.” Unfortunately, Burney was dating someone else, so we were just friends. But once he was single again, I made the first move. We started dating in August 2006, got engaged the following month and were married three months later. One of the things I love the most about Burney is how easily he has stepped into fatherhood. It seems like he’s been doing it his entire life. I have to admit, raising boys has been interesting for me. I come from a family of girls, so it’s a whole new experience, especially now that they’re 13 years old.  As much as I want them to think of me as a friend, it’s more important that they see me as Mom first. With that in mind, I try not to be away from them for long periods of time, which can be tricky because I also want to work. So I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to cohost Bravo’s Make Me a Super-model, a fun show where contestants compete for a modeling contract. It was a great opportunity, but it meant that I would be in New York City four days each week for three months. And Burney and I would have to put plans for expanding our family on hold. It was a tough choice, but after discussing it with my family, I went for it. Doing the show was exhausting because I flew back and forth between New York and Florida during those three months of taping. I hope the show comes back for a second season, but as of right now, there’s no word. Even though my work might take me away now and then, the boys know that the most important thing in the world to me is being their mom. GUEST COLUMNIST: Niki Taylor, 33, rose to fame as a supermodel while still a teenager and became the face of CoverGirl cosmetics. This year she cohosted Bravo’s Make Me a Supermodel. She lives in the Nashville, TN, area with husband Burney Lamar and sons Hunter and Jake.