MIAMI \u2014 For the Miss USA pageant\u2019s 75th edition, the women took the show on the road to the hottest city in the country \u2014 Miami.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, a new queen was crowned at the Ziff Opera House, part of the Arsht Center downtown. The evening\u2019s hosts were \u201cBeverly Hills 90210\u201d star Ian Ziering and \u201cReal Housewives of Atlanta\u201d castmate Kenya Moore, who snagged the title back in 1993.<\/p>\n
Fifty-one contestants \u2014 one representative from each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia \u2014 vied for the crown. The two-hour show, which streamed live on the Queen Beauty Network, included the swimsuit and evening-gown presentations and a question-and-answer session.<\/p>\n
So, who wowed the judges, floored the crowd and clinched the final, coveted sash?<\/p>\n
She\u2019s Miss Virginia Justus Kelley, 31. The Arlington resident isn\u2019t just stunning, poised and accomplished. She also just made history.<\/p>\n
The influencer is the oldest participant of the competition, which lifted age restrictions in 2023 (the cap used to be 28).<\/p>\n
The Indianapolis native (you only need to live in the state you represent) is also the first married mom. She and her businessman\/college sweetheart husband Tyler Kelley are \u201cproud\u201d foster parents to two \u201cadorable siblings that absolutely have my heart,\u201d she told the panel during the Q&A.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat my era as Miss USA would mean and look like is no longer questioning if we have to choose between our ambitious careers, our families and our wildest dreams,\u201d said Kelley, rocking a silver dress and vintage pink feather boa. \u201cI\u2018m standing on this stage embracing every part of who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once the tabulations were in, Miss USA 2025, Nebraska\u2019s Audrey Eckert, appeared to present the winner with the diamond-encrusted tiara, worth in the $250,000 range.<\/p>\n
A slight blip in the production: Eckert, wearing a voluminous Cinderella gown, took a slight tumble to the ground, but ever the pro, got right back up, flashing a huge smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat an exit,\u201d joked Ziering.<\/p>\n
All else went without a hitch at the show, which also featured a walk-on from participants from years past. Despite the whole shebang wrapping past 11 p.m., Kelley was still glowing bright and early the next morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on cloud nine,\u201d she told the Miami Herald by phone. \u201cI keep asking myself, \u2018Am I dreaming?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Nope, definitely not dreaming, because that would mean sleep was involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I napped for maybe about an hour,\u201d she joked. \u201cI\u2019m running on coffee, adrenaline and just the excitement of everything. I\u2019ve been waiting for this my whole life, so I am soaking it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelley, a philanthropic advisor at St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital, understands the gravitas of her role and what it took for her to get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it feels like to represent moms and be above the age where you\u2019re told you can no longer compete,\u201d said the Indiana University grad. \u201cI have a sense of responsibility to show all those women they can still chase their dream and raise families, plus take care of themselves. It\u2019s a special message, and I\u2019m honored to share it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did we mention she\u2019s fabulous and humble? Despite beating out 50 other goddesses from Alabama to Wyoming, Kelley refused to take credit for her success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never claimed to be Superwoman. I have a team, a family, a village. They told me, \u2018We\u2019ve got your back,\u2019 and made it OK for me to say to myself, \u2018I can make this work,\u2019 \u201d said Kelley, who will move on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant Nov. 24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to sacrifice one or the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her prize includes a $150,000 salary, Range Rover, one-year lease in a luxury Miami apartment, fancy wardrobe and other swag. Job duties involve public speaking engagements, working on community projects and being an advocate for humanitarian issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a planner; I have vision boards already,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cI\u2019m excited to connect with the directors to make sure this year is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
An important note. If for any reason Kelley can\u2019t fulfill any obligation, someone local can step in.<\/p>\n
Miss Florida Aileen Cerchiara, 26, was named first runner-up. Before the ceremony, the Tampa woman wrote on Instagram how proud she was to be on the national stage in her home state.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida, I love you,\u201d said the post. \u201cTonight, I\u2019m carrying you with me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 For the Miss USA pageant\u2019s 75th edition, the women took the show on the road to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[8173,48963,14324,154051,1209,25650,150622,28,225,227,226,6027,3156,15272,123,16495,3445,4102,72156,135,4571,49433],"class_list":["post-384497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-alabama","tag-americas","tag-arlington","tag-community-issues","tag-culture","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-entertainment-and-the-arts","tag-florida","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news","tag-hurricane-ian","tag-indiana","tag-indianapolis","tag-miami","tag-mississippi","tag-north-america","tag-puerto-rico","tag-san-juan","tag-tampa","tag-united-states","tag-wyoming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}