Virginia's Justus Kelley is Miss USA 2026!
This is the third win for the state of Virginia which was a long time coming as the previous two winners from Virginia were successive winners: Wendy Dascomb in 1969 and Deborah Shelton in 1970 and here we are 56 years after Debbie's win with Justus bringing the Miss USA crown to Virginia. Justus Kelley also won the best in swimsuit award during preliminaries which was also the case for last year's Miss USA winner, Audrey Eckert of Nebraska so this is now two years in a row that the swimsuit winner won Miss USA (at least that we know of...) but what's even weirder is that I had both the swimsuit winners, Audrey and Justus in 9th place on my predictions lists and both of them won!!! How does this happen?? It must be some subconscious thing!
Justus made headlines prior to the pageant by simply posting a departure picture of herself on social media holding a trash bag along with her luggage making a statement saying "Heading to Miami for the 75th @MissUSA with the very type of bag I've seen children in foster care transition into my own home carrying." Justus is a foster parent and the founder of Foster Footprints which is an organization that works to empower foster youth in the region of Northern Virginia. Justus and her husband, Tyler, have been licensed foster parents in Virginia for nearly two years and he also shared her dream of fostering. They have since welcomed children ranging from 7 months to 10 years old into their home wanting a safe, loving and welcoming environment for children of any age, race, orientation or background and wanted every child they fostered to know that they were safe, valued and worthy of being loved exactly as they are and as mentioned during the show, Justus and her husband are currently fostering a baby boy and his sister.
Justus married her college sweetheart, Tyler Kelley on July 24, 2017. Their marriage licence from 2017 states Tyler Rashad Kelley, 25, and Justus Anye Coleman, 22, were both from Bloomington, Indiana. Justus actually has a rich pageant history. Justus Anye Coleman Kelley won the Mrs. Indiana title on June 27, 2020 and placed as 1st runner up in the 2021 Mrs. America pageant. Even before that, she held the title of Miss Indiana University 2016. In the Miss USA system, Justus placed 2nd runner-up at Miss DC USA 2026 and surprisingly the winner of that pageant, Kennedy Lucas, who was among my predictions, didn't place. Justus was also 1st runner-up to Miss DC USA 2025, 3rd runner-up to Miss Virginia USA 2025, a semifinalist at Miss Virginia USA 2024 and 2nd runner-up Miss Virginia USA 2023 so Justus' persistence has paid off.
Justus herself said she was the first Miss USA to be married and I would just like to clarify that Justus Kelley is technically not the first married woman to be Miss USA nor is she the first mother to be Miss USA. That distinction belongs to Miss USA 1957, Maryland's Mary Leona Gage who was unceremoniously dethroned shortly after winning Miss USA 1957 right after competing in the Miss Universe preliminaries but before Miss Universe finals making 1957 the only year the USA did not compete through to the finals. Married contestants could compete for Miss USA and Miss Universe from 1952 to 1956 but the rules changed in 1957 and it was discovered Leona lied about her age saying she was 21 when she was actually only 18 and by that time, she had already been married twice and had two young sons. Leona would have 4 sons and 1 daughter so she had 5 children in total and married six times in her life and Leona passed away in 2010. The 1957 Miss USA crown was given to runner-up, Utah's Charlotte Sheffield who later competed at Miss World 1957 but didn't make top 7. Charlotte passed away in 2016. The rules to lift the age limit from 28 and allow married women to compete came into effect for the 2024 season and it only took two years for a married mother to be crowned! Justus is now also the oldest woman to win Miss USA winning at age 31 defeating the record previously held by Texas' R'Bonney Gabriel who won Miss USA 2022 at age 28 and then Miss Universe 2022 which R'Bonney still holds the record as the oldest Miss Universe titleholder. This year's oldest delegate was Michigan's Amber Uhler competing at age 41 but it was last year's Delaware delegate, Tetra Shockley who won the Chelsi Smith congeniality award who is still the oldest contestant of all time competing at age 44 so let's see if that record gets broken in the years to come!
This year was the 75th diamond anniversary but there was a lot of rockiness along the way to get here. It was announced on June 28 that a deal had been worked to air both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA on the CW network (like in 2023 for Miss USA but Miss Teen USA 2023 was on the CW app and both pageants in 2024 under the ownership of Laylah Rose Loiczly). Thom Brodeur took ownership for 2025 and those pageants aired on his Queen Beauty Network website. With just one week left before the CW was supposed to air both pageants, it was announced that the CW dropped both pageants on August 20. The Miss USA Organization cited an unresolved contractual issue with their production arrangements. Some speculate that a payment wasn't made on time but there may be something going on behind-the-scenes with staff that led to this but the CW might be airing future broadcasts of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA so I guess we'll find out next year if that actually happens. This year, the pageants and prelim and state costume events were streamed on the Queen Beauty Network website as backup. We also had the same three commercials loop over and over at both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA for Westgate Resorts promoting missusagetaway.com, Flixxe and Les Olson Jewelers. These commercials were shown so often, some viewers claimed they had them memorized!
Prior to this, there were more state directors dropping out or not having their contracts renewed. The Miss Texas USA pageant did not happen for 2026 under the directorship of Will Henderson who had been directing Texas since 2022 due to a contract dispute and so this year's Texan delegate was selected via the open casting process so the time-honored tradition of a Miss Texas USA pageant didn't happen this year. In 2025, there were 8 directorless states due to the fallout with Laylah Rose (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming). 
Those states were still directorless for 2026 but we added 8 more open casting states: Will Henderson's former state: Texas, Miss Tennessee USA 1989-Kim Payne-Greenwood's former states: Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi and Miss Ohio USA 1990-Melissa Proctor-Pitchford's former states: Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 4 of these states placed: Colorado (Jordyn Owen is actually from Arizona), Kentucky (Brijet Finister is actually from California), Montana (Lisbeth Fernandez is from Florida), and Pennsylvania (Elizabeth Voight is actually from Pennsylvania and made top 5!). A lot of questions have been raised on social media about open casting delegates being chosen that are not from their states and I've seen much debate online after people learned that Justus Kelley is married about allowing married contestants to compete for a Miss title when there are lesser-known Mrs. pageants. But rules are rules and they were changed for the 2024 season so we shall see if we see more anomaly delegates being crowned.The original titleholder of Miss North Carolina USA, Brittany Boltinhouse was dethroned three weeks before the pageant after allegations that she had been posting slurs and degrading comments on social media in the past. Brittany tried to defend herself claiming they were targeting her for being a conservative Christian but in her place, the runner-up Myla Hadley was sent to represent North Carolina instead.
Then there was the gathering of the former Miss USAs and coordinate activities for them. The preliminary events and finals events had delayed start times with many of us left staring at that spinning Miss USA or Miss Teen USA logo for long periods of time and rumor has it that some people had to leave the Miss Teen USA preliminaries early so that they didn't miss the yacht event that was scheduled for that night on August 25 which also had its issues. I heard some guests including some former Miss USAs were stuck in a hot elevator for 15 minutes but unfortunately, stuff happens everywhere. The cruise on the yacht featured some nostalgic elements like gowns of former winners, state/national costumes and swimsuits and they had a dance party and dinner.
The pageant itself began with a special montage featuring reigning Miss USA, Audrey Eckert walking on the streets of Miami with visions of former Miss USA winning moments displayed on the various tall buildings around her. It was a nice concept and for someone like me who has seen every Miss USA pageant since 1965 and clips/photos of the years prior, I could recognize a lot of the audio announcements and the visual playbacks of winners' reactions leading into the opening number which happened to be the song I picked for one of my headlines in my First Round Prethoughts, "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" so this being the 75th anniversary, this song about diamonds was the correct choice! We can't let Rihanna have everything, can we??? "Shine bright like a diamond!" The opening dance number featured Audrey Eckert being lifted up like Marilyn Monroe by the male dancers with the female dancers dancing with feathered fans followed by this year's contestants showing off some dance moves and a pretaped segment introducing the delegates in alphabetical order. It was nice that they incorporated some choreography and many recent years have had simple productions with delegates simply walking in lines.
Now to our hosts, Ian Ziering of Beverly Hills 90210 fame and Miss USA 1993-Kenya Summer Moore. I'm glad they both stayed even though this pageant didn't air on the CW but from what I remember of these two, it seemed like Ian's eyes seemed smaller and Kenya's seemed much bigger. Kamie Crawford-Miss Teen USA 2010 was supposed to host Miss Teen USA 2026 but she bailed and Noelia Voigt-Miss USA 2023 stepped in to host instead. Several mispronunciations were heard from Ian and Kenya throughout the show but we'll discuss those later. I like their incorporation of Kenya's "Gone With the Wind Fabulous" song and that she did a twirl. She needs some of the pageant girls to teach her the twirl like Dominican Republic's Clarissa Molina at Miss Universe 2015. There seemed to be some teleprompter delays too causing some stumbles and some have commented that some parts of the production felt a bit like it was college kids running the show with minor glitches here and there.
There were multiple times when Ian and Kenya sounded like they were reading off a prompter like when Ian was saying the names of the color commentators: Andreia Gibau-Miss New York USA 2020 (top 10 at Miss USA 2020), Dani Walker-Miss Montana USA 2018 (unplaced at Miss USA) and Noelia Voigt-Hendrix-Miss USA 2023 and all three of them probably could do a better job of hosting as they all speak well and are very knowledgeable about the delegates and pageant history and they are actually enthusiastic about pageants and that really makes a difference. Noelia stepped in to co-host Miss Teen USA 2026 when Kamie Crawford stepped down and Noelia did a formidable job.
There were boasts about this year's prize package being worth $680,000. I seem to have memorized Dick Clark telling Miss Universe 1992-Michelle McLean (one of this year's Miss USA judges) that she won a prize package worth a quarter of a million dollars... Inflation's a bitch... This year's prize package included: a 6-figure annual salary of $150,000, a brand-new Range Rover SE or Sport, a fully paid apartment lease at E11EVEN Luxury Residence in Miami, Florida, for her year-long reign, a Westgate Vacation Club home, a fully paid trip to the 75th Miss Universe contest in Puerto Rico complete with a $30,000 wardrobe subsidy, a $25,000 crown ring and pendant, modeling contracts (including with designer Johnathan Kayne, Bella Vita MAYVEE), a guest role on the CW, a $15,000 hair package, a $15,000 aesthetics package, editorial shoots with Nigel Barker, Michael Franco and Dorian Qi and $50,000 in awards season and fashion week experiences (including New York Fashion Week, International Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week and upcoming Cannes Film Festival red carpet access and representation by SEEN Entertainment Talent Management. Even the rest of the top 5 are being awarded cash prizes for the first time in 20 years with the 1st runner up getting $15,000, 2nd runner up getting $10,000, 3rd runner up getting $6,500 and 4th runner up getting $3,500. It really has been a long time since decent prize packages have been awarded so I hope it actually gets done!
So how did I do with my predictions?? Well, oddly enough, just like my predictions for Miss Teen USA 2026, I picked 14 of the top 20. I also had one alternate place (Montana), one honorable mention (Colorado) and in my next tier was Louisiana who won the People's choice vote. The three that I missed entirely were: Indiana, Kansas (2nd place in people's choice) and New Mexico. It's funny how my prediction accuracy for both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA 2026 was a near match! My 6 ladies that didn't place were: Tennessee, District of Columbia (who defeated Justus Kelley at Miss DC USA before she hopped to Virginia!), Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Maine. What happened to my 6 ladies that didn't place? Tennessee was a naturally beautiful, fresh-faced blonde but I guess they didn't want too many blondes this year so ladies like her were taken out of the running but Sydney appeared so sweet and likeable that I thought they wouldn't be able to resist her. DC's Kennedy Lucas was another fresh-faced beauty who holds a bachelor's degree and an MBA from Hampton University and she also won the title of Miss Black USA 2024 representing Maryland so I thought she was a shoe-in and I purposely placed her one spot ahead of Virginia's Justus Kelley since she was Kennedy's 2nd runner-up at Miss DC USA prior to her hop to Virginia so sometimes a ranking in one pageant means nothing in the next! I put Hawaii in my list since I thought we needed Asian representation but I wasn't so surprised that she didn't place as she was a bit lanky looking but her gown with the blue waves was really eye-catching. Illinois' Vivica Lewandowski was tall and striking and the daughter of Miss Illinois USA 1998, Mandy Jo Lane Lewandowski and Vivica did place at Miss Teen USA but I guess things were different this time around. New Jersey was a more distinct-looking blonde with graceful moves on stage and I liked her unconventional black gown but I guess it not to be and finally, Maine's Mykala Green was actually a very photogenic candidate and had a great body and looked great in prelims. It might have been interview. The 3 top People's Choice vote recipients were: 1. Louisiana, 2. Kansas, 3. Colorado and the winner of the Westgate Ambassador award was Montana. These 4 ladies were fast-tracked into the top 20. Did you notice when the called the semifinals, they were back to saying MISS Arizona, MISS California, etc. They tried to get rid of this practice in 1998 because an example would be that the title of Miss Arizona actually belongs to the Miss America system and the actual title would be Miss Arizona USA in the Miss USA system but I guess pageants have gone so downhill that no one cares anymore. I don't think anyone ever cared about the whole 'Miss' thing.
After the evening gown competition, it was time to honor the former Miss USA titleholders. It started with a montage of Miss USA winning moments and clips throughout history and it was understandably low resolution which didn't really surprise me since footage from the older eras looks blurry and dated compared to today's high resolution video. It showed Sue Downey's first walk as Miss USA 1965, Miriam Stevenson's crowning as Miss Universe 1954, Linda Bement's crowning as Miss Universe 1960 by predecessor Miss Universe 1959, Japan's Akiko Kojima, Audrey Eckert's first walk as Miss USA 2025, Miss USA 2018-Sarah Rose Summers with runner-up North Carolina's Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Hawaii's Tanya Wilson getting sashed as Miss USA 1972, Barbara Peterson's reaction to winning Miss USA 1976, Carol Morris walking on stage to accept her title as Miss Universe 1956, Miriam Stevenson receives a large bouquet of flowers upon winning Miss Universe 1954, Carol Morris crowning Leona Gage as Miss USA 1957 and Leona does her little hand raise in delight. Kim Pressler and Morgan High-top 2 of 1999, Susie Castillo with Michelle Arnette-top 2 of 2003, Rachel Smith with Danielle Lacourse-top 2 of 2007, Crystle Stewart with Leah Laviano-top 2 of 2008, Alyssa Campanella and Ashley Durham-top 2 of 2011, Sarah Rose Summers and Caelynn Miller-Keyes-top 2 of 2018, Audrey Eckert and Ivy Harrington-top 2 of Miss USA 2025. Olivia Culpo and Nana Meriwether-top 2 of Miss USA 2012, Rima Fakih and Morgan Woolard-top 2 of Miss USA 2010, Cheslie Kryst and Alejandra Gonzalez-top 2 of Miss USA 2019, winning moments of: Wendy Dascomb-1969, Tanya Wilson-1972, Michele McDonald-1971, Amanda Jones-1973, Summer Bartholomew-1975, Shawn Weatherly-1980, Terri Utley-1982, Carole Gist-1990, Shauntay Hinton-2002, Olivia Culpo-2012, Nia Sanchez-2014, Kenya Moore-1993, Kara McCullough-2017, Elle Smith-2021, R'Bonney Gabriel-2022, Deshauna Barber-2016, Mai Shanley-1984, Cheslie Kryst-2019, Kenya Moore-1993, Kim Pressler-1999, Audrey Eckert-2025, quickshots of: Terry Huntingdon-1959, Macel Wilson-1962, Marite Ozers-1963, Sharon Brown-1961, Bobbi Johnson-1964, Amanda Jones-1973, Summer Bartholomew-1975, Barbara Peterson-1976, Judi Andersen-1978, Mary Therese Friel-1979, Kim Seelbrede-1981, Terri Utley-1982, Christy Fichtner-1986, Michelle Royer-1987, Brook Lee-1997, Kim Pressler-1999, Shauntay Hinton-2002, Shandi Finnessey-2004, Chelsea Cooley-2005, Tara Conner-2006, Kristen Dalton-2009, Olivia Jordan-2015, Sarah Rose Summers-2018 cut to 2026 and the legacy queens return on the diamond anniversary yacht trip starting with a showing of the late Cheslie Kryst gown that she wore when she won Miss USA 2019 followed by the 2026 delegates and other people interacting with the legacy queens!
Now it was down to the top 5 being announced and I loved that they incorporated some of the legacy queens to make the announcements. Elle Smith-2021 announced Pennsylvania. Alyssa Campanella-2011 announced Florida. Gretchen Polhemus-1989 (really Kenya... did you say Gretchen Polhummus? It's Polheemus... and I think Kenya should know that considering she was 4th runner-up at Miss Michigan USA 1989 the year that Gretchen won Miss USA...) Anyway, Gretchen who is also on staff with the current Miss USA organization announced Virginia. Asya Branch-2020 (pronounced correctly like Asia! Well done, Ian! Was that what Kenya whispered in your ear prior to you calling Asya up?) Asya announced Utah (both ebony beauties with gorgeous faces). Kim Tomes-1977 (Kenya mispronounced a Miss USA sister's name wrong again... it's not Toms, it's Towmz) Kim announced the final member of the top 5, Iowa. The top 5 were then asked their final questions by the judges and this time not in alphabetical order. Iowa was first and Angelica Nwandu asked, "The Miss USA crown has been worn by women from many different generations and backgrounds. What is one quality of a Miss USA that you think has remained constant over the last 75 years?" Iowa answered (with audio low at first), "The ability to connect with others. As someone with a background in sports communications and storytelling, I understand the importance of human connection and how much an impact that has as being a titleholder. As the next Miss USA, I want to serve as an architect of opportunity and connection and build pathways through communities and connection just as Iowa built that foundation for me." This was an okay answer from someone who won best in interview. She must have really charmed the judges in prelim interviews. Utah was up next and I still can't believe she's 30 years old. She looks way younger! Mia Michaels asked, "Miss USA represents a country of more than 300 million people who do not always share the same experiences or beliefs. How can one woman authentically represent such a diverse nation?" Utah answered, "Sure. So, as an afro-latina woman, I know exactly what it's like to sometimes feel like you don't fit in. It's leadership that bridges that gap so as a leader, you must continue to try to develop others and make sure that you're seeking understanding. As the next Miss USA, I will listen more than I speak so I can understand others and bridge that gap so we can all be together as one." I thought this was a decent answer but 4th runner up? Really? That gorgeous face!!!! Virginia was next and Steven Grossman asked, "For 75 years, Miss USA has reflected the changing face of American women. If you become the 75th Miss USA, what do you hope your year will say about women in America today?" Virginia answered, "I'm really glad that you asked. We are here tonight celebrating the 75th anniversary of Miss USA but we also have an opportunity to make history tonight. I'm 31 years old. I'm married to my college sweetheart of 9 years and we are proud foster parents of two adorable siblings that absolutely have my heart. What my year 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. I'm standing on this stage embracing every part of who I am and I believe... that I can be... your next Miss USA." Dare the judges to help make history and pick an out-of-the-box contestant and they did it with Justus, the oldest woman to win Miss USA at age 31 who is married and is a foster mother who advocates for children to have dignity and not have to use trash bags as luggage. Florida was asked by Michelle McLean, "I just have to ask you about the social media. It's given everybody a voice but I've really, really struggled with that. It's also created comparison, misinformation and division. What responsibility do you believe Miss USA has in shaping a healthy digital culture?" Florida answered, "I believe Miss USA has the responsibility to unite everyone. This crown and this sash is so much more than the glamour, than the photoshoots. It's about uniting each and every one of us. It doesn't matter where you come from, where you were born, what your marital status is. We can do that by using social media and being transparent and authentic in who we are and leading by example. As your next Miss USA, I promise to use my social media and show exactly who I am because I want to break that glass ceiling for the rest of the women who are going to come after me. Thank you." Yes, that's right, just be an example and be pretty and marry rich... Finally, we had Pennsylvania and she was asked by Deshauna Barber-Echols, "Throughout its history, Miss USA titleholders have each left their own unique mark on the organization. Of all 75 (there are technically more than 75 due to 9 Miss Universe wins, 1 dethronement-1957 and 1 resignation-2023), which legacy Miss USA titleholder has most inspired your life and your journey?" Pennsylvania answered, "What a hard question because I have looked up to almost every single Miss USA that I have watched since I have been alive but ShOndi Finnessey (it's pronounced Shandee as in rhymes with Andy... facepalm... and she was in the audience... double facepalm...), Miss USA 2004 has been someone that I have admired for years and something a lot of people don't know about her is that she wrote a book, she was a substitute teacher and she raises her family on a farm and I have seen my story parallels hers and she has been a role model in my life and I want to be a Miss USA that is just like that and someone who is strong, who is powerful and who touches other little people's hearts and that's what I want to do as Miss USA. Thank you." I mean Shandi is perfection like I've been saying since she won and I have seen that she has even topped various online lists ranking Miss USA winners so Shandi's a great choice. The closest to a real-life Barbie which is probably the real reason she chose her but wow, that's a tough question to be asked in the presence of several Miss USAs so I'll say she handled it well except the mispronunciation of Shandi. She probably knew not to go with Deshauna as it would like she was pandering to the judges. I thought it was interesting that Dani Walker mentioned that Pennsylvania's gown was inspired by Miss Universe 2023, Sheynnis Palacios. I mean, maybe the off-shoulder part but I didn't really see it. I'm still wondering if Pennsylvania is related to Angelina Jolie Voight since they have the same last name but I knew she wasn't related to Noelia Voigt due to the different spelling.
After a montage showing Audrey Eckert during her reign as Miss USA 2025 prior to her farewell walk, in a historic first, she tripped and fell on stage. Not once, but twice! The first fall prompted an immediate standing ovation from the audience. The hem of the skirt of her gown may have been too long. I recalled Ali Landry-Miss USA 1996 appearing on Inside Edition telling the costume director that the hem of her national costume at Miss Universe 1996 was too long and that she didn't want to step on it. I think that's what happened in Audrey's case. Ali's national costume at Miss Universe was also a purple ball gown just like Audrey's farewell gown! Audrey now joins Rachel Smith and Crystle Stewart in the Miss USAs that fell on stage club. She definitely became all choked up as she was probably delighted to see the audience stand for her but she probably had mixed emotions with some embarrassment in there but she continued her farewell walk after Ian went to help her. She received a bouquet of roses, gave it back and then continued lifting her skirt but as she walked towards centerstage, she fell again! This time, Ian and Kenya were cued to talk to Audrey. "What an exit!" Ian quipped. Ian complimented her and Kenya asked Audrey to talk about her reign. Still choked up through fighting tears, Audrey mentioned that she enjoyed doing the things she thought weren't possible and talked about her trip to Thailand to compete for Miss Universe as well as to France and throughout the USA. She thinks the new era of Miss USA speaks for itself and she was honored to be there for the 75th anniversary.
