Ruth Beloff from "The Jerusalem Post" branded Sophie a "sexy, promiscuous raven-haired beauty" and Nathanael Cooper of "The Courier-Mail" wrote that she is a "mega-babe personal trainer". Clem Bastow from The Vine said that Sophie is "the sex kitten of the show"; but would have preferred the role to be attributed to Jenny instead. Darren Devlyn and Colin Vickery from the "Herald Sun" said that when the show premiered, "the critics were raving about talented" Vallejo – but Tuckwell-Smith was their "standout star". The "Herald Sun's" Schipp observed Sophie as being "savvy, sexy and straight-talking" with a "voracious appetite for men". A writer from the "Daily Mirror" chose Sophie's rebuffing of JB's advances in their one to watch feature. Dianne Butler from "The Sunday Times" wrote that she could not see Sophie and Doug ever getting together. She labelled her "a big drama queen" and said that if Sophie didn't have multiple problems, "she would just make them up". Butler added "love her and everything [...] but she is exhausting to be around." A writer of the "Illawarra Mercury" chose Sophie's stalker storyline as a television "highlight". They added that "the adage 'money doesn't buy happiness' has been ringing true for Sophie for a while now", due to her stalker. Lenny Ann Low of "The Sydney Morning Herald" praised "Winners & Losers" for filling the four lead roles with females; and added that the actresses were "excellent" and "full of pep". While Michael Idato opined that the four girls have "a palpable chemistry", but Frances and Jenny seemed more "fully formed in the writing" than Sophie and Bec. "The Sun-Herald's" Jo Casamento opined that the role of "bad girl Sophie" had propelled Vallejo into a "household face". Columnists from the newspaper "The Age" have often analysed and written about Sophie. Frances Atkinson said that Sophie is "the fitness instructor who trains men, sleeps with them and forgets them (in that order)." Lorelei Vashti opined that she is "a hot fitness instructor who used to be fat and smart but now she's skinny and thus has heaps of sex." While Bridget McManus stated that the show's "potentially interesting characters" were restricted by "four tired female stereotypes"; with Sophie being "the damned whore".