'Watson's Girl' Overcomes Ridicule, Focuses On Family

INDIANAPOLIS -- The "Watson's Girl," a local TV icon for more than a decade, has two new roles, the Watson's mom and wife, but she's also been subject to ridicule.

Jennifer Foley has grown up before central Indiana TV viewers' eyes. She's gone from showing pools and spas to warming bottles and changing diapers.

Foley was only a teenager and admits she was a wild child when her career began, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

With her bubbly personality and sexy swimwear, Jennifer started as a spokesmodel for her stepfather's company and quickly blossomed into a local TV star.

"People were always like, 'Watson's girl! Watson's girl!," Foley remembers.

While some fans drooled, critics cringed and some people made derogatory comments.

"A lot of people would heckle, like, 'Yeah, I can't believe you're wearing a swimsuit on TV.' But, we were selling pools and tanning beds. You know, it'd be a little different if I was walking down a car lot in a swimsuit."

Now 28 years old, Foley has a baby girl, 7-week-old Sofia, and is relishing her new role as mom.

"My whole life I've waited to be a mom," Foley said. "Now that she's here … she's just heaven."

Jennifer married Matt Foley in 2004, a man she calls her soul mate.

"I think when you know, you know, and that was it. So … we knew, and he's a great guy," Foley said.

Jennifer said she will never forget the cruelty of strangers that happened while she was pregnant. Watson's commercials didn't reveal right away in their commercials that Jennifer was expecting. She was filmed above her belly, but her face filled out.

"I was like, 'Dad, people are starting to wonder why … why I'm so big," Jennifer recalled.

Her weight gain triggered fat jokes and hateful e-mail.

"You know … people say some really rude things, and you just think, 'Wow, I just pray that my child is never rude to somebody like that," Jennifer said.

Kindness will be one of the first lessons Jennifer said she'll teach Sofia. Modeling might be the next.

Modeling was always Jennifer's dream, but her dreams have shifted since Sofia's birth. As her life changes, Jennifer hopes the negative perception of her some people hold will change too.

"I am not what they think. I could be their sister, their daughter. I could be in anyone's life," Jennifer said.

She will always be that bubbly fun-loving girl Hoosiers see on TV. As for her career, Jennifer said it's far from the end. It's a new beginning.

"I'll still be the Watson's girl. You know, there's just a new one now," Jennifer said.

Jennifer will continue as Watson's representative, appearing in commercials in several states where Watson's has stores.

Foley also has a degree in communications from Ball State.

Foley said family is the most important thing to her and that she wants the family to keep growing.