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The beauty queen revealed the unconventional pageant prep behind her history-making title.
Justus Kelley/Instagram
Beauty queen Justus Kelley is sharing details of her unconventional health and fitness routine as the oldest-ever winner of the Miss USA pageant.
The 31-year-old Virginia native was crowned on Aug. 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, succeeding Audrey Eckert.
Eckert, who represented Nebraska in Miss USA’s 2025 pageant, was just 23 when she won the title.
In addition to breaking a record as the first woman in her thirties to win the national competition, Kelley, a philanthropist and founder of the Foster Footprints nonprofit, is also the first married woman and foster mother to hold Miss USA’s top title.
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Kelley told Fox News Digital that she “had to get creative” with pageant prep for this competition, sharing details on how she got her healthy, radiant glow and toned physique.
Justus Kelley is crowned Miss USA 2026 onstage with Miss USA 2025, Audrey Jolynn Eckert, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on August 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
Ivan Apfel/Ivan Apfel/Getty Images
“I’m not going to pretend like I was able to dedicate the same amount of time as what I did in the past,” she said in a Sept. 19 interview.
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She added, “I did walking classes with my baby on my chest, in his carrier. I did squats in my living room while holding my 2-year-old. I practiced interview questions while feeding my toddler.”
Justus Kelley on stage during the 2026 Miss USA Final Competition and Coronation at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on August 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
Ivan Apfel/Ivan Apfel/Getty Images
Kelley said she abandoned social media to work out in her spare time.
Roosa Rahkonen
“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,” she explained.
Continuing, “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.”
The Miss USA winner said her husband, Tyler, whom she married in 2017, has supported her since her first pageant more than 10 years ago.
Justus Kelley walks the runway at the Michael Cinco show during New York Fashion Week at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on September 12, 2026, in New York City.
Mark Gunter/Getty Images for Art Hearts Fash
Now, Kelley not only gets to wear the crown and represent the country, but she also receives a prize package valued at more than $685,000. The package includes a salary, a Range Rover, a year-long lease for a luxury Miami apartment, and a $30,000 wardrobe subsidy.
Miss USA was founded in 1952, with the late Jackie Loughery becoming the pageant’s first winner in Long Beach, California. Originally from New York, Loughery was 22 when she earned the crown. She died in 2024 at 93.
Jackie Loughery, an actress and the first-ever Miss USA, portrayed Annie in the film ‘The D.I.’ in 1957.
De Carvalho Collection/Warner Bros./De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images
In 1957, Miss USA contestant Leona Gage had her crown revoked after officials learned she was married and had two children.
The organization first allowed married women and mothers to compete in the pageant in 2023.
“Miss USA has taught me that life doesn’t have to follow one timeline,” Kelley said in a Sept. 21 Instagram post. “We don’t have to choose between family and ambition, motherhood and our careers, or who we are today, and who we’re still becoming.”
A post shared by Miss USA (@missusa)
Kelley will compete in the 2026 Miss Universe competition in November.
Roosa Rahkonen
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