Photo: Getty Images
Justus Kelley, the former Miss Virginia and a 31-year-old foster mom from Arlington, Virginia, made history Thursday night (August 27) when she was crowned Miss USA, becoming the first mother, married woman and first woman in her 30s to win the national title.
Kelley was crowned during the 75th Miss USA competition at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. She celebrated the historic win in a video shared by the Miss USA Instagram account following the pageant.
“This opportunity means the world to me,” Kelley said in the video. “Not only are we celebrating the 75th anniversary, but we made history tonight. I’m the first married woman, first mom and first woman in her 30s. So, it’s a great night.”
Kelley’s victory comes after the Miss USA Organization changed its eligibility rules in 2023 to allow mothers and married women to compete, Business Insider reported. In 2024, the organization removed its age restriction, making women 18 and older eligible to compete.
Kelley is a mother through foster care. She and her husband, Tyler, have been licensed foster parents in Virginia for nearly two years, she told PEOPLE. During that time, the couple has welcomed children ranging in age from 7 months to 10 years old into their home.
Kelley said she and Tyler, whom she married after meeting in college, shared a desire to foster from the beginning of their relationship. The couple also founded Foster Footprints, an organization supporting children and families involved in the foster care system, according to Business Insider.
She brought that advocacy with her to Miami, traveling to the pageant with her belongings packed in black trash bags.
Kelley told PEOPLE that the unusual luggage was meant to draw attention to the way children in foster care sometimes carry their belongings in trash bags when moving between homes.
“A trash bag should never be a child’s suitcase,” Kelley said.
Kelley will now represent the United States at the Miss Universe competition in Puerto Rico in November.T
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