Especially Singaporean model Roshni Soin, 24, who was eliminated in the show's third episode which aired on March 31.
The Miss Singapore World 2007 winner - who was housed with the other girls for about a month at the exclusive ONE°15 Marina Club in Sentosa Cove - found herself being confronted by them due to her outspoken and opinionated personality.
The New Paper spent an entire day on set after Soin had been voted off and spoke with the models.
Nattakorn "Rosie" Choovichian, 24, from Thailand, said she was glad that the "drama queen" was eventually cut by the panel of judges because she had performed the weakest that week.
"She was bringing in too much negativity in the house. She's always pointing out the flaws in the other contestants but doesn't see the flaws in herself." Indonesian Melinda Widjanarko, 25, echoed Choovichian's sentiments.
"As much as possible, I used to stay away from Roshni because I didn't want to get into any trouble. It was quite tense in the house when she was around, but now things are getting better..."
Supermodelme 2 - which is hosted by local supermodel Charmaine Harn and features contestants from Singapore, China and Australia competing for a S$20,000 prize - airs every Thursday on KIX (StarHub Ch 518) at 9.30pm.
'They're like sharks'
During the episode in which Soin was eliminated, the girls were seen pointing out her faults - one even complained about her loud snoring - and suggested she change her ways in order to restore harmony.
In her defence, Soin called them "sharks in the water" and said during her interview segment: "I feel attacked. When the film crew came along, the girls suddenly got very dramatic for the cameras...
"I don't expect them to change, so why should I change for them? Why am I the one singled out to have to change for the entire house?"
But even with Soin gone, Choovichian admitted that there was still some clique-ish behaviour going on.
She said: "We've all got different personalities and come from different backgrounds. So obviously, you'll see girls from the same countries sticking together. We can't all be best friends, but we do try to get along with each other and help one another wherever we can."
And help each other they did, especially during the photoshoot at the old Supreme Court building.
Said Australian Kiani Lee, 17, who is of Indonesian and Caucasian parentage: "It's not easy at all to get into the mindset of the characters we are portraying in our pictures. In fact, it's pretty nerve-racking, but it helps when we've got one another to help calm each other down and remind each other to keep our focus."
Added Avalon Hona Halaho, 16, also from Australia: "Whoever said being a model is easy obviously has never modelled before. It's more than just looking pretty and wearing nice clothes. A lot of work goes into trying to give that camera the perfect shot."
The New Paper saw first-hand the difficulties of the job - one of which was the daily process of watching the calories they consume to maintain their figures. As this reporter was eating her McDonald's meal for dinner, they could only stare on enviously as they had their healthy snacks.
When offered some fries and nuggets, the girls politely turned them down but not before explaining that they didn't want to risk putting on weight, especially during the three-month competition.
Said Avalon: "We've all had to sacrifice some types of food to maintain our weight.
"But once this competition is over, I am definitely going to head to a fast food joint for at least one burger!"
This article was first published in The New Paper.
