by Dollita Okine, Face2FaceAfrica.com
Texas native Regan Hutsell has been crowned the winner of Miss America 202. The prestigious pageant took place on September 6 in West Palm Beach, Fla., featuring delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands competing for the title.
Hutsell, who became the 99th woman to take the crown and sash, will also benefit from scholarship money as part of her prize.
Shelby Bordelon, Miss Louisiana, finished as first runner-up, and Kate Dimmett, Miss Illinois, finished as second runner-up.
Miss America 2026, Cassie Donegan, 28, officially crowned her successor in accordance with pageant tradition.
Hutsell, who previously danced as a Radio City Rockette and performed with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, was raised in the dance community, which often places a strong emphasis on physical appearance.
Before her victory, she opened up to People about her experiences with an eating disorder and how she has used her platform to advocate for women’s body positivity.
Hutsell emphasizes that while looking your best and representing the Miss America organization is significant, “it’s not the most important part of it.”
She, however, added that what she cherished most about the “Miss America Opportunity” is “empowering women to lead with purpose.”
She said, “For me, navigating that as a woman, I have to rely on what I would call my community service initiative, which talks about your body as your home.”
“Which stems from the fact that when I had an eating disorder, a coach sat me down and she said, ‘Your body’s more than your instrument; it’s your home.’ And so to find the other side of my eating disorder, I had to navigate that with some little mental management tools that I’ve now put in a little toolbox that I carry out with me.”
She acknowledged that competing in pageants for the first time made her “really nervous” about stepping into an environment that heavily emphasized appearances, outfits, and other cosmetic things.
“Something that helped me was the fact that when they talk about fitness, they say that it’s about living an active lifestyle,” she explained. “It’s not about being your skinniest self; it’s about being your healthiest and your strongest self, and it’s lifestyle-based and not one moment that you’re seeing on stage.”
Shifting her perspective resonated with Hutsell and motivated her to compete in her first local.
She soon realized that competing was more about being the healthiest she had ever been on stage than it was about being the thinnest.
“I stand here, and I sit here in this chair knowing that I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, I’m the most confident I’ve ever been, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, and I’m very thankful I’m not the skinniest I’ve ever been,” she recounted.
“I stand here, and I sit here in this chair knowing that I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, I’m the most confident I’ve ever been, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, and I’m very thankful I’m not the skinniest I’ve ever been,” she recounted.
Hutsell described her “toolbox” that guided her through her eating disorder, explaining, “I had to navigate that with some little mental management tools that I’ve now put in a little toolbox that I carry out with me.”
One tool is a measuring tape, symbolizing “not measuring up to others, but measuring your own growth.”
She shared, “And so I have to use that sometimes with myself when I’m looking around and maybe finding myself in patterns of comparison, realizing, no, I have to measure the fact that I’ve invested a lot to be here.”
Though she still has moments of concern about her appearance, she can now pause and reflect.
“Sometimes you do have to take those moments and find some good self-care, but equally as much, I know for myself that I feel most at home, most like I’m living in my purpose when I’m helping others, and I can’t do that to the full capacity if I’m constantly wrapped up in negative thoughts,” she said.
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