Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, made headlines when she was spotted by ESPN's Brent Musberger at the National Championship game earlier this year.
Now, the 23-year-old model - recently featured in the pages of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and a castmember on ABC's upcoming reality diving show, "Splash" -- explains how she's handling her sudden fame.
PLAY IT NOW: Katherine Webb Recalls Her Fast Food Gig & Making A Splash In New Reality Show
"It started hitting me - especially on the drive back to Alabama from Miami," she told Billy Bush and guest co-host Holly Robinson Peete of her sudden publicity following the attention at the National Championship game, on Friday's Access Hollywood Live . "I was on the phone for the whole 11 hours with the media. And I didn't have a team working with me.
"So here I was, answering phone calls and setting up interviews [without a publicist]," she continued. "Oh gosh - it was horrible!"
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Game On! Sexy Male Athletes!
The brunette beauty received a call from the folks at Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition asking if she'd like to be in the magazine roughly two weeks after the January game and has been going non-stop ever since - something she's trying to get used to.
PHOTOS: Love Connection: Athlete & Celebrity Couples
"I've had such a short time to handle adjusting to this new life, and so it's been stressful having to deal with [my] life automatically being in the public for everyone to see and everyone to form opinions and judge [me]," she said. "So that's been difficult."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Beauty Queens Turned Big-Time Stars!
As for her future with A.J. (who she said has been a "great" support as she finds her footing with fame), she said their currently-long-distance status has been rough.
"It's hard being in LA and him being back home in Alabama, but we're definitely working on it," she said. "And I'll probably move back home and travel when I need to."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Model Mania: Hot Shots Of The World’s Catwalkin’ Beauties
Copyright 2013 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
