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Justus Kelley made history as the first mother and first married woman to win Miss USA — and she got there in an unconventional way.
On Aug. 27, the organization hosted the 75th edition of the national pageant in Miami. The 31-year-old, who was Miss Virginia USA 2026, succeeded last year’s winner, Audrey Eckert, 24. The pageant opened the competition to married women and mothers in 2023.
“My pageant prep, it did look different,” Kelley told Fox News Digital. “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. Their 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 two-year-old. I practiced interview questions while feeding my toddler.”
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Miss Virginia USA 2026 Justus Kelley is crowned Miss USA 2026 onstage during the 2026 Miss USA Final Competition & Coronation at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“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,” Kelley said. “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.”
The Miss USA pageant began in 1952 in Long Beach, California, with New York’s Jackie Loughery becoming its first winner. The competition is separate from the Miss America pageant, which traces its history to a 1921 event in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Miss USA 2026 winner Justus Kelley and Miss Florida Aileen Cerchiara stand on stage during the 2026 Miss USA Final Competition and Coronation at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida., on Aug. 27, 2026. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Kelley, a foster mom of two, is the first married mother to retain the Miss USA title. In 1957, Mary Leona Gage was crowned Miss USA but was stripped of the title the following day after pageant organizers learned she was married and the mother of two sons.
Mary Leona Gage Ennis, who won the title of Miss USA in the contest and then lost it when it was discovered she was married and the mother of two children, is shown in this 1956 photo. (Getty Images)
WATCH: MISS USA 2026 REVEALS HOW SHE TRAINED FOR PAGEANT WITH KIDS IN TOW
Kelley said she ditched social media and TV in favor of workouts whenever she found a spare moment while caring for her two young children.
“I love abductor and adductor exercises, something that I usually do on a machine at the gym,” she explained. “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. 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.”
Abductor and adductor exercises target opposing muscle groups in your hips and thighs that help control side-to-side movement, stabilize your pelvis, and support balance and overall lower-body stability. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“I really focused on core,” she said. “So a lot of times you’ll find me at home in the living room. I might be watching a movie or doing some self-care, but I am on the floor crunching it out during that movie, saying, ‘Let’s try to get through this whole scene doing crunches,’ and then you pause. It was really all about focusing on core.”
Miss USA 2026 Justus Kelley stands on stage during the Miss USA Final Competition and Coronation at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 27, 2026. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Kelley said her husband’s support also helped her through the competition.
“The crown might be his because all he keeps saying is, ‘I can’t believe I’m Mr. USA,'” Kelley said with a laugh, referring to her college sweetheart. “I’m like, ‘Babe, I don’t know if that might be trademarked. Stop saying that!'”
Justus Kelley and her husband are fostering a baby boy and his sister. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“He is so over the moon,” Kelley said. “We’ve been together for 13, going on 14 years and married for nine. He’s been a part of every bit of this journey. I’ve been competing for over 10 years now. And from my very first pageant, he was there holding a sign with my face on it up until the very end. I did not get here alone. He’s been a huge supporter. My husband’s a consultant, and he’s been calling himself my pageant consultant. But he’s been a huge help in getting me to this point.”
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Justus Kelley walks the runway at the Michael Cinco show during New York Fashion Week Powered by Art Hearts Fashion at The Angel Orensanz Foundation on Sept. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Getty Images for Art Hearts Fashion)
This year’s prize package, valued at more than $685,000, includes a $150,000 salary, a Range Rover, a one-year lease at a luxury Miami apartment, a Westgate Vacation Home Club membership and a $30,000 Miss Universe wardrobe, according to People magazine.
“The prize that made me go, ‘Wow, and I have some questions,’ was knowing that the Range Rover is a part of traveling in style even after your year as Miss USA. I think that’s huge. But my first question was, ‘Does it fit car seats?'”
Miss USA 2026 Justus Kelley wants to raise the awareness of providing a loving home to foster children. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Kelley said she wants her year as Miss USA to challenge the idea that women need to choose between their families, careers and personal dreams.
Miss Virginia USA 2026 Justus Kelley is crowned Miss USA 2026 onstage during the Miss USA Final Competition & Coronation at Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Aug. 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“You don’t have to choose one part of who you are,” Kelley said. “You can be all of who you are. That, to me, is the message. We can embrace every part of who we are. It doesn’t take away from the other. It doesn’t mean there aren’t trade-offs, and there aren’t times when we have to lean on our village more heavily to get through all the things that we may be pursuing. But know that we don’t have to sacrifice ourselves.”
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From left: Miss Virginia Justus Kelley, Miss Florida Aileen Cerchiara and Miss Pennsylvania Elizabeth Voight appear on stage during the 2026 Miss USA Final Competition and Coronation at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 27, 2026. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Looking ahead, Kelley said her victory wasn’t only personal — she also saw it as a chance to represent mothers and wives balancing family life with their own ambitions.
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Justus Kelley and her husband Tyler have been licensed foster parents in the Commonwealth of Virginia for nearly two years. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“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,'” she said.
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Justus Kelley married her high school sweetheart. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
“We’re raising our families, but we still have dreams. We still have things that we want to go after and pursue. But what an honor. I get to do this. I get to represent these women. What an honor.”