Married mother Justus Kelley makes Miss USA history

WASHINGTON: Justus Kelley of Virginia has made history after being crowned Miss USA 2026, becoming the first married mother to win the national title under the competition’s modern rules.

The 31-year-old Kelley secured the crown during a televised ceremony on Friday, succeeding last year’s winner Audrey Eckert. Her victory also makes her the oldest winner in the history of the competition.

Kelley’s win reflects major changes in the eligibility requirements for the pageant. Until recently, married women and mothers were not permitted to compete. Those restrictions were removed in 2023, while the previous age limit was eliminated in 2024, opening the competition to a wider range of contestants.

Beyond the pageant, Kelley has built a career around supporting children in foster care. She and her husband, Tyler, are licensed foster parents and are currently caring for a baby boy and his sister.

Her connection to the foster-care community also featured prominently during the competition. Kelley attracted attention after appearing at an airport carrying some of her belongings in a garbage bag.

She later explained that the unusual luggage was intentional, saying it represented the experience of foster children who often move between homes carrying their possessions in similar bags.

Kelley is also the founder of Foster Footprints, an organisation focused on supporting and empowering young people from her community who have experience with the foster-care system.

Her achievement marks a significant contrast with the pageant’s earlier rules. In 1957, Mary Leona Gage was crowned Miss USA but was later stripped of the title after it was revealed that she was married and had two children.

Kelley will now represent the United States at the Miss Universe competition in Puerto Rico, where the international winner is scheduled to be crowned on November 24.

She will compete against representatives from countries around the world, including Pakistan’s Misbah Arshad, who has been selected to represent the country at the global pageant.

Kelley’s victory is being viewed as a milestone for the competition, highlighting how its eligibility rules have evolved and allowing contestants who are married, mothers and older than the previous age limit to compete for the crown.