Who is Tyra Banks’ ex and baby daddy Erik Asla? The supermodel – who just made her grand return to Victoria’s Secret aged 50 – met the Norwegian photographer on a Next Top Model set

Nov 7 , 2024

Banks and Asla share 8-year-old York Banks Asla, who was conceived via gestational surrogacy; the photographer has 3 daughters from previous relationships, including Kim Shui model Tatjana Asla

Tyra Banks may be one of the world’s most renowned models ever, but even she needs some TLC to bloom. The creator of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) recently made her grand return to Victoria’s Secret after almost two decades, to close the brand’s 2024 fashion show in New York. Instead of wings, the icon had a royal cape trailing behind her as she strutted her stuff, looking gorgeous doing it at 50. The key to her unshakeable confidence? According to a recent Today interview, it is her rumoured beau, Canadian businessman Louis Bélanger-Martin.

Tyra Banks bosses the runway during the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York in October. Photo: Reuters

“That’s where my stuff happens – of self-doubt, am I good enough, am I just a model? My man is amazing at helping me through those moments,” Banks mused, confirming that she is in a happy relationship. The TV personality turned entrepreneur, who recently launched ice-cream company Smize & Dream (where Bélanger-Martin is chief financial officer), is also a mother. She shares her eight-year-old son York Banks Asla with ex-boyfriend Erik Asla, who you might remember was a photographer on ANTM.

Speaking about her son, Banks shared in the same interview that the little one was “finally understanding that I’m a model” but that she was determined to let him choose his own path in life. “I’m not pushing him to model. Like, if he wants to do it, he wants to do it, but I’m not going to be that mama,” she clarified.

Banks and her baby daddy, who is nine years her senior, split when York was little more than a year old. However, they worked together afterwards and are co-parenting their child. So just who is Erik Asla and what has he been up to since separating from Tyra Banks? Here’s everything we know.

What does Erik Asla do for work?

Tyra Banks’ former partner Erik Asla is a visual artist. Photo: @erikasla/Instagram

Asla was born in Norway, once lived in Paris and is now based in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. He initially studied law but then chose a different professional route, starting his career as a photo assistant to the renowned Herb Ritts. Soon, Asla was a successful photographer himself, working with major magazines such as Vogue, Allure, Elle, Glamour, GQ Australia and Marie Claire. During that period he also photographed Banks several times. He eventually shifted from fashion to fine art photography and is now a self-described visual artist.

His photography is the stuff of exhibitions

Erik Asla’s latest project, “Elsewhere”, recently featured in an exhibition in Oslo. Photo: @erikasla/Instagram

Asla’s photography has been displayed at numerous exhibitions. His first solo show was held in Norway; his latest project, “Elsewhere”, the result of three years’ work, took him back to his home country, where the results were recently displayed at the Galleri Semmingsen, Oslo. Per Asla’s website, “Elsewhere” aims to “use natural elements to elicit an emotional response, give form to light, while also satisfying an aesthetic principle”. The photographs in the collection were taken around the world, from Utah to Quebec, Colombia, Nebraska, California and Norway, among other places.