Magnificence queen Justus Kelley is sharing particulars of her unconventional well being and health routine because the oldest-ever winner of the Miss USA pageant.
The 31-year-old Virginia native was topped on Aug. 27 on the Adrienne Arsht Heart for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, succeeding Audrey Eckert.
Eckert, who represented Nebraska in Miss USA’s 2025 pageant, was simply 23 when she gained the title.
Along with breaking a report as the primary lady in her thirties to win the nationwide competitors, Kelley, a philanthropist and founding father of the Foster Footprints nonprofit, can also be the primary married lady and foster mom to carry Miss USA’s prime title.
Kelley instructed Fox Information Digital that she “needed to get artistic” with pageant prep for this competitors, sharing particulars on how she obtained her wholesome, radiant glow and toned physique.
Justus Kelley is topped Miss USA 2026 onstage with Miss USA 2025, Audrey Jolynn Eckert, on the Adrienne Arsht Heart for the Performing Arts on August 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida. / Ivan Apfel / Ivan Apfel/Getty Pictures
“I am not going to fake like I used to be in a position to dedicate the identical period of time as what I did previously,” she mentioned in a Sept. 19 interview.
She added, “I did strolling courses with my child on my chest, in his provider. I did squats in my front room whereas holding my 2-year-old. I practiced interview questions whereas feeding my toddler.”
Justus Kelley on stage in the course of the 2026 Miss USA Last Competitors and Coronation on the Adrienne Arsht Heart for the Performing Arts on August 27, 2026, in Miami, Florida. / Ivan Apfel / Ivan Apfel/Getty Pictures
Kelley mentioned she deserted social media to work out in her spare time.
“If I can not make it to the fitness center, I am simply mendacity on the ground, elevating my leg and mirroring what I’d’ve executed on that machine,” she defined.
Persevering with, “Plenty of instances you may discover me at residence in the lounge. I is likely to be watching a film or performing some self-care, however I’m on the ground crunching it out throughout that film.”
The Miss USA winner mentioned her husband, Tyler, whom she married in 2017, has supported her since her first pageant greater than 10 years in the past.
Justus Kelley walks the runway on the Michael Cinco present throughout New York Trend Week on the Angel Orensanz Basis on September 12, 2026, in New York Metropolis. / Mark Gunter / Getty Pictures for Artwork Hearts Fash
Now, Kelley not solely will get to put on the crown and signify the nation, however she additionally receives a prize package deal valued at greater than $685,000. The package deal features a wage, a Vary Rover, a year-long lease for a luxurious Miami condominium, and a $30,000 wardrobe subsidy.
Miss USA was based in 1952, with the late Jackie Loughery changing into the pageant’s first winner in Lengthy Seaside, California. Initially 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 within the movie ‘The D.I.’ in 1957. / De Carvalho Assortment / Warner Bros./De Carvalho Assortment/Getty Pictures
In 1957, Miss USA contestant Leona Gage had her crown revoked after officers realized she was married and had two kids.
The group first allowed married girls and moms to compete within the pageant in 2023.
“Miss USA has taught me that life does not must comply with one timeline,” Kelley mentioned in a Sept. 21 Instagram submit. “We do not have to decide on between household and ambition, motherhood and our careers, or who we’re as we speak, and who we’re nonetheless changing into.”
Kelley will compete within the 2026 Miss Universe competitors in November.
