Marissa Teijo, of El Paso, is ready to make historical past because the oldest contestant ever to compete within the Miss Texas USA pageant, at 71 years outdated.The occasion, held this weekend in Houston, will see Teijo and nearly 100 rivals vie for the possibility to characterize Texas within the Miss USA competitors later this August, experiences NBC Information.In a current put up to her Instagram web page, Teijo wrote that she is “delighted to be part of this unbelievable new expertise as a contestant within the Miss Texas USA pageant. In doing so, I hope to encourage girls to attempt to be their greatest bodily and psychological self and imagine there’s magnificence at any age,” she added.
The septuagenarian reportedly grew up on a farm, and developed an curiosity in health at a younger age, collaborating in a number of athletic competitions earlier than switching to magnificence pageants.A current rule change within the Miss Universe group made it doable for Teijo to compete this yr, by permitting all girls over 18 to compete, together with those that are pregnant, married, or divorced.The group has been steeped in controversy since Could, when Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 Uma Sofia Srivastava resigned from their positions inside days of each other, and accused the organizers of abuse and bullying.In her resignation letter, Voigt known as the group a “poisonous work atmosphere” and attributed her stunning exit to what she mentioned was “at greatest … poor administration and, at worst … bullying and harassment.”