SUPPORTERS: Oscar Pistorius’ father, Henke (left), talks with daughter Aimee yesterday in court, where a photo of the gun that the Olympian allegedly used to kill his gal pal was shown. (
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Stunning model Reeva Steenkamp was in an abusive relationship before meeting the Blade Runner — and planned on using her trauma as part of a motivational speech on the day she was murdered.
Steenkamp, 29, wrote a Valentine’s Day speech for the students of Sandown HS in Johannesburg, South Africa, that urged them to “be brave,” “always see the positive” and “make your voice heard,” the Daily Telegraph of Great Britain reported.
“I lost a lot of self-worth during my last year in [Port Elizabeth] before I moved to [Johannesburg], and it took some serious soul-searching to remind myself of my value in this world,” she wrote, referring to her college years.
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“Being loved by others, although an amazing feeling to have the appreciation of others, does not define your place in the world.”
The cover girl’s shooting death sent shock waves across her native South Africa, where the FHM magazine model was set to star in a popular reality show.
Producers for “Tropika Island of Treasure,” whose TV spots feature a beaming, bikini-clad Steenkamp, said they’d still air the premiere as scheduled today — and her distraught family will be watching her performance.
“Reeva would’ve liked us to watch it,” the budding model’s uncle, Mike Steenkamp, told People magazine. “She indicated that before the tragedy.”
Producer Samantha Moon said not airing the prerecorded show would be an “injustice” to the model’s memory.
“Every episode that she is in, every frame that she so ably dominates, shines with the light and her light and her laughter echoes in every conversation, and we want to share these special memories with the rest of South Africa,” Moon said in a statement.
This week’s episode of “Tropika Island,” filmed in Jamaica, will be dedicated to Steenkamp’s memory and begin with a tribute to the model.
The show’s Web site features a candle and a note near the top saying, “We are deeply saddened, and extend our condolences to Reeva’s family and friends.”
The production crew is “devastated” at the loss of Steenkamp, Moon said.
People magazine’s South Africa edition yesterday released photos of Steenkamp’s last modeling assignment, in which she posed in lace lingerie for a Valentine’s Day edition.
The model had been gushing on Twitter over the day of love just a day before she was found shot to death in Pistorius’ home in a posh gated community.
“What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?” she wrote, adding the hashtag “#getexcited.”
Steenkamp was born in Cape Town to a family of horse trainers and moved to Port Elizabeth as a child. She went on to graduate from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University with a law degree in 2005.
That same year, her modeling career started to take off with gigs from Toyota, FHM, Clover and the clothing label Zui, and she found herself in the same social circle as Pistorius.
The couple went public two months ago and were said to be very happy, even considering getting married and having children. close friends said.