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Miss USA 2026 winner Justus Kelley has opened up about her preparation for the swimwear portion of the pageant after becoming the first married woman and mother to win.
“My pageant prep, it did look different,” Kelley, 31, told Fox News Digital in an interview published on Saturday, September 19. “I’m not going to pretend like I was able to dedicate the same amount of time as what I did in the past. I had to get creative. [My kids’] nap time was my prep time. It was late nights. It was after the bath and bed routine. I did walking classes with my baby on my chest, in his carrier. I did squats in my living room while holding my 2-year-old. I practiced interview questions while feeding my toddler.”
She added, “There were days when I wished I could just take the entire day to dedicate to pageant prep, but that’s not where I am. That’s not the season of life that I’m in. And we made it work, and my family was fully on board with this experience. They know that they’re along for the journey; they’re along for this ride with me.”
Kelley triumphed over 50 women from around the country to win the Miss USA 2026 crown at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami on August 26. In doing so, Kelley became the first representative of the state of Virginia to win Miss USA since Deborah Shelton did so in 1970.
Miss USA 2026 Justus Kelley on stage during the 2026 Miss USA Final Competition and Coronation. Ivan Apfel/Getty Images
The Arlington, Virginia, native not only made history as the first mother and married woman to take the crown but she was also the first person in her 30s to ever win Miss USA. (Kelley and her husband Tyler have welcomed two foster children into their home.)
In 2023, Miss USA changed a rule that previously prevented women with children from competing in the pageant and removed a previous age cap of 28.
“Knowing that history was made as the first mom, as the first wife, as the first woman in her 30s, my first thought was how amazing it is to get to do this and to represent women from all over the country, from all over the world that resonate with, ‘Hey, we’re still dreaming,’” Kelley told the outlet.
Kelley revealed that giving up social media allowed her crucial time to dedicate to fitness ahead of Miss USA’s iconic swimwear competition.
“I love abductor and adductor exercises, something that I usually do on a machine at the gym,” she added her exercise regimen. “But if I can’t make it to the gym, I’m just lying on the floor, elevating my leg and mirroring what I would’ve done on that machine.”
Miss USA winner Alma Cooper, who was crowned in 2024, has announced she won’t be attending this year’s pageant. Taking to Instagram on Friday, October 24, the beauty queen, 23, told her followers that she made the “extremely difficult decision” to skip this year’s event. The post was shared just hours before the pageant, where […]
The Miss USA winner went on to say, “For me, leading up to a pageant, knowing there’s a fitness component, I’m going to be in a swimsuit on that stage. I want to feel good. I want to show off all this hard work.”
Per reports, Kelley’s prize package for winning Miss USA includes a $150,000 salary, a one-year lease on a Miami apartment, a Range Rover and a Westgate Vacation Home Club membership. She also received $30,000 to put toward her Miss Universe wardrobe as well as $15,000 for hair and glam.
The next step for Kelley is to represent the U.S. at Miss Universe 2026, which will be held at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 24.
