Mallory Hagan, who was crowned Miss America successful January 2013, describes forming a familial enslaved with then-pageant CEO Sam Haskell over the year she held the title.

At the aforesaid time, she says successful occurrence 1 of A&E's Secrets of Miss America, erstwhile she archetypal met Haskell the time aft the pageant, helium advised her, '"This Miss America's crazy. Don't speech to this Miss America.'" (Mallory besides recalls being told by an unnamed pageant manager up of the Miss New York 2011 contention that she wouldn't similar eventual winner Claire Buffie Adkisson, but they became accelerated friends.)

"It decidedly instilled a subconscious fearfulness of, are determination different radical that I shouldn't admit I person a narration with?" Mallory recalls successful the series. "I decidedly was not prepared for the insanity—the intelligence warfare. It genuinely had thing to bash with me. It had everything to bash with a idiosyncratic utilized to being successful power of those astir him."

Savvy Shields Wolfe, crowned Miss America 2017, says she didn't cognize who to spot because, arsenic she shares successful the series, Sam told her helium had spies successful the enactment who would fto him cognize if anyone said thing antagonistic astir him oregon the Miss America Organization. 

"I was excessively frightened to scope retired to anyone," Savvy says. "I didn't cognize who a 'spy' was."

Multiple erstwhile Miss America winners callback the strict rules they were expected to abide by during their year representing the organization, especially the 1 about not being allowed to person men successful their edifice rooms—"including your father," Mallory notes successful the series.

Miss America 2016 Betty Maxwell (née Cantrell) recalls being "reamed out" by Sam during a league telephone aft idiosyncratic errantly informed him that her fellow had brought Taco Bell to her location during a hometown visit. It was her friend's boyfriend, she says successful the series, and she recovered the full concern preposterous.

"They're very, precise anti-boyfriend due to the fact that they privation you to look similar you're America's sweetheart," Betty says. "They're trying to beryllium feminists and #MeToo and each these things, and astatine the aforesaid clip they're, like, not reasoning that each young twentysomething is dating someone? Like, travel on."

In the series, Mallory and Sam's erstwhile adjunct Brent Adams recall falling for each different successful 2013 erstwhile the quality queen came to Oxford, Miss., to sojourn the Haskell family.

They didn't spell nationalist until Mallory had relinquished her crown to the adjacent winner, and she says she thought Sam would beryllium thrilled by the news when helium recovered out. But erstwhile Brent told Sam, she says, his "response was little than positive." 

Brent alleges Sam threatened to occurrence him respective times if helium didn't halt dating Mallory. (He notes that helium did not initially archer Mallory astir his boss' absorption due to the fact that she and Sam inactive seemed to person a cordial moving relationship.)

But, Brent continues, "[Sam]would accidental these things, she was a slut, oregon similar a horrible person, oregon whatever—I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' It was astir control. He controls everything and everyone other successful his life. And if you spell against him, you're chopped out."

Mallory says she yet broke up with Brent successful 2014 due to the fact that helium continued to enactment for Sam.

"I made a choice," she notes. "The prime was that I didn't privation to proceed being successful a narration with idiosyncratic who wasn't lasting up for me."

Brent says helium felt "trapped" moving for Sam, disquieted he'd ne'er get different occupation successful L.A. and besides not definite that quitting would assistance Mallory astatine all. To this day, helium notes, "I inactive don't cognize what Sam's contented was with america dating."

He yet near the occupation astir Christmastime of 2014 because, helium recalls, Sam would inactive get huffy that Brent and Mallory continued to text, adjacent though they were nary longer together.

E! News has reached retired to Haskell for remark connected allegations made successful the bid but has not yet heard back.

Mallory moved to Los Angeles to prosecute TV opportunities, but portion she seemingly came adjacent to getting jobs, she says in the series, they kept falling done and "it's hard to cognize what truly happened."

Brent alleges connected the amusement that helium witnessed Sam badmouthing Mallory successful meetings with web executives, including claiming she was "trying to hook up" with Chris Harrison, who astatine the clip was hosting The Bachelor and the Miss America pageant for ABC.

"It was chaotic and unsettling," Mallory says successful the bid of proceeding that Sam was trashing her down her back, "but it besides made maine incredibly angry. Like, conscionable what is incorrect with you?"

Claire, Mallory's person and victor of Miss New York 2011, recalls connected the amusement proceeding a rumor that Mallory had slept with idiosyncratic successful each authorities she'd visited arsenic Miss America. "Which," Claire says, "is categorically untrue."

Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008, besides says she remembers proceeding astatine the clip that Mallory was "crazy" and "wild," but that didn't marque immoderate consciousness to her, truthful she ignored it. The aforesaid went for Susan Powell, Miss America 1981, who says successful the bid she "didn't springiness a batch of credence to things that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not be."

Claire remained progressive with the Miss New York pageant and, aft 3 consecutive Miss America wins from the authorities (starting with Mallory's successful 2013), the brace decided to commencement their ain coaching business.

Soon after, they some accidental successful the series, Miss America issued a directive barring coaching, to assistance "level the playing field" for contestants who couldn't spend coaches. Then a database of approved coaches was released and their names weren't connected it.

Claire and Mallory accidental they hosted a Christmas gathering successful 2014 for a radical of friends, including recently crowned Miss America Kira Kazantsev 2015 (one of the Miss New Yorks whom Claire had mentored). Later, the brace say, they recovered retired that Kira got successful occupation for socializing with them aft pictures from the enactment were posted connected societal media.

Also successful the series, Savvy (Miss America 2017) says she was told not to talk to Mallory, but by past it was known that Mallory was persona non grata. Betty (2016) says Sam told her determination was a cone and "'people extracurricular the cone we conscionable can't subordinate with." She says she was told that Mallory and Claire were some extracurricular the cone and she abided, due to the fact that she didn't privation to extremity up connected "that achromatic database of Miss Americas."

There was "a batch of clip I did not privation to beryllium present anymore," Mallory recalls successful the bid of increasing progressively depressed from feeling shunned by the Miss America organization.

Her lowest moment, she says, came the time she "drank a batch of alcohol" and went up to the extortion of her building. "And if it wasn't for my narration with my parents," she adds, wiping distant tears, "I astir apt would person made a precise antithetic determination than I did."

Mallory says she was successful New York with Claire, watching the 2017 Miss America pageant, erstwhile she recovered retired Brent had blown the whistle connected Sam.

Brent (who spoke to the media astatine the time) explains successful the bid that helium had been successful the loop connected each of Sam's emails, arsenic the CEO instructed him to be, truthful helium was privy to a lot—and that helium waited to accidental thing due to the fact that helium didn't privation it to look similar helium was exacting revenge connected his erstwhile boss.

The correspondence that Huffington Post was first to report connected successful December 2017 contained derogatory comments astir past pageant winners, including Mallory. A connection sent to Sam in December 2015 and excerpted successful the A&E bid noted, "I bash judge that our anti-coaching initiatives are already impacting her concern and that our argumentation of ignoring her is driving her crazy."

At the time, Sam fired backmost successful a statement that the "conveniently edited" emails HuffPost reported connected were "stolen 3 years agone by ex employees" and the resulting communicative astir him was "unkind and untrue." What he wrote, helium explained, resulted from being "under accent from a afloat twelvemonth of attacks by 2 Miss Americas, and portion I don't ever privation to connection an excuse, I bash privation to connection context." More than anything, helium stressed, "I person the utmost respect for the women of this programme and contestants astatine each level. It breaks my bosom for anyone to deliberation otherwise."

After 49 past Miss America winners, dating backmost to 1948, signed a petition calling for his ouster, Sam (who had already been suspended by the committee of directors) resigned from the organization on Dec. 23, 2017.

Secrets of Miss America included a connection from Sam reiterating that "much of what was reported was dishonest, deceptive and despicable. The worldly is based connected backstage emails that were stolen...Those who cognize my bosom cognize that this is not indicative of my character, nor is it indicative of my concern acumen."