Justus Kelley simply made historical past as Miss USA 2026. She’s the primary married girl, and the primary girl in her 30s to win the pageant, Miss USA confirmed to TODAY.com.
The day after the Miss Virginia winner was topped Miss USA 2026 on Aug. 27, Kelley tells TODAY.com what the second of being topped felt like.
“I really feel like I left my coronary heart on that stage, and I used to be so happy with what I had accomplished this week, not simply on stage, however every bit of how I made a decision to point out up, bringing a message with me, doing all the pieces with objective and a mission in thoughts,” Kelley says.
“That, for me, is what I got here to do, and so I actually did really feel like it doesn’t matter what occurs, I really feel like I gained. I simply felt a lot peace. I felt contentment.”
Till latest rule modifications in 2023 and 2024, Miss USA prohibited girls who had been over the age of 28, or who had been moms, pregnant, married or divorced from coming into the pageant.
As a part of Miss USA’s seventy fifth yr celebration, Kelley was joined on stage by legacy queens.
“What we’re doing is simply due to the shoulders that we’re standing on, the those who got here earlier than us,” Kelley says of assembly the legacy queens.
“I actually needed to do my finest to include my pleasure all week as I used to be assembly completely different former Miss USA’s, simply in disbelief that I used to be assembly them in actual life,” Kelley says. “These are girls that I comply with on social media and have adopted all through the years, and have regarded as much as them for a lot of my life. So to now have these girls be folks which are welcoming me right into a sisterhood simply felt like a dream.”
Kelley is a foster mum or dad. She and her husband, Tyler Kelley, are at present foster dad and mom to a sibling set and have fostered earlier kids. Kelley can also be the founding father of Foster Footprints, a DMV-based foster assist program.
She says she appears to be like at her pageants, and the latest title, as an even bigger method to elevate consciousness concerning the realities of foster care.
“I went to Miss USA, and I assumed, how can I be intentional about my message and my objective? Simply being embedded in all the pieces that I do,” she says.
“I’m very trustworthy and clear with folks about how a lot I’ve realized since turning into a foster mum or dad,” Kelley provides. “I had a bit of little bit of an ignorance as to what children would expertise. I form of assumed that each little one on this state of affairs should come from an terrible state of affairs or an terrible mum or dad. And my actuality and what I’ve seen from the kiddos which have come into my house is they’re coming oftentimes from households that deeply love them however are struggling, have fallen on laborious instances, are having housing crises and coping with dependancy.”
Kelley’s dedication to shedding mild on the realities of the U.S. foster care system is clear in her Miss USA marketing campaign. As she traveled to Miami, the place this yr’s competitors was hosted, she carried trash luggage. In an Instagram submit, she defined why.
“The trash luggage I carry replicate a actuality far too many foster kids know all too properly. A trash bag ought to by no means be a baby’s suitcase. Each foster little one deserves to hold their belongings with dignity — and I would like you to assist me make that attainable,” Kelley wrote within the caption.
The Arlington resident, who holds a grasp’s diploma in public well being administration, can also be a senior philanthropic adviser for St. Jude Kids’s Analysis Hospital in Arlington, in line with her LinkedIn.
With pageant competitions as considered one of her many hustles, Kelley finds neighborhood. She tells TODAY.com what went into her choice to pursue the contests.
“I used to be a freshman or possibly sophomore in school on the time, simply in search of neighborhood, in search of like-minded, robust girls that wished to empower and assist one another, in search of these kinds of friendships,” she says. “I discovered that with pageant girls, after doing my first one, I simply liked it. I liked the expertise and what I received out of it, being in a room full of ladies that encourage me. That’s what retains me coming again.”
Kelley says her household couldn’t have been extra supportive and proud all through her pageant journey. She says they’ve been part of this journey for a number of years, and that this dream of hers has change into their dream.
“My husband retains calling himself Mr. USA. I don’t know if that’s a factor. Each member of the family I discuss to, they’re like, ‘I can’t consider I’m Miss USA’s aunt. I can’t consider I’m Miss USA’s sister,’ and I’m like, ‘What? Bro, I can’t consider I’m Miss USA.’ That is simply the best factor for all of us.”
