Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel Crowned Miss Universe 2022

Since being crowned Miss Universe connected Jan. 14, R'Bonney Gabriel has been way excessively engaged to wage the rumors any mind, thank-you-very-much.

Which isn't to accidental she wasn't affected by accusations from some fellow contestants that her Miss USA win backmost successful October was someway rigged—prompting similar suggestions about the Miss Universe Pageant connected societal media—but weathering that tempest has the fashion decorator from Texas relishing her latest triumph each the more.

"Let maine archer you, winning Miss Universe aft going done each that is the sweetest, sweetest victory," a beaming Gabriel told E! News' Francesca Amiker. "I thought, this happened successful my beingness to hopefully amusement radical resiliency and however to support going nary substance what." (In effect to claims that Gabriel's triumph was invalid, the Miss Universe Organization said successful a statement, "The mendacious rigging allegations are absurd and distract from the unthinkable milestones our enactment and the delegates experienced this weekend. Instead of focusing connected unfounded statements, we volition proceed to radiance a airy connected planetary women's empowerment, inclusiveness, diversity, and transformational leadership.")

Beside, thing could pierce the joyousness bubble that came with becoming the first-ever Filipina-American Miss Universe, arsenic good arsenic the archetypal Miss USA to instrumentality the rubric successful 10 years.

"I conscionable looked astatine my dad, helium immigrated from the Philippines, helium is portion of the American dream," she said. "I felt truthful overmuch emotion, truthful overmuch pride. There were truthful galore Asian Americans and Filipinos successful that country that were cheering for me, and I could consciousness their energy. It made my bosom truthful happy."

And if determination was immoderate sniping down the scenes at this pageant, Gabriel says she didn't notice, calling her chap contestants "so amazing" and shouting out all the quality and dynamism connected display.

"We truly person truthful overmuch fun," she said, noting that determination are really 12 days of contention starring up to the televised portion, truthful they've spent a lot of clip unneurotic by then. "We're each all other's hype miss and we'll instrumentality photos of each different for our Instagram. We're each successful this together."

Among her history-making credentials, Gabriel is besides the oldest-ever Miss Universe winner, a imaginable milestone she acknowledged during the pageant erstwhile asked what different imaginable alteration she would marque to the competition, successful airy of the field precocious opening up to moms and joined women.

"For me, I would similar to spot an property summation due to the fact that I americium 28 years old," she answered connected stage. "And that is the oldest property to compete. And I deliberation it's a beauteous thing. My favourite punctuation is 'if not now, past when?' Because arsenic a woman, I judge property does not specify us. It's not tomorrow, it's not yesterday—but it's now. The clip is now."

Reflecting connected that moment, Gabriel told E! that being 1 of the older contestants "gave maine a consciousness of urgency to marque it hap and to beryllium capable to archer that story. I'm truthful gladsome I had the accidental to accidental that onstage successful my question."

The feeling that it was present oregon ne'er inspired her hard-core discipline: Gabriel stuck to a strict repast program for 2 years (oatmeal and 2 eggs for breakfast, shrimp and greenish beans for lunch, salmon and broccoli for dinner, positive macromolecule shakes betwixt meals and "three to six atom cakes" for snacks, every day), changed apartments to chopped down connected thrust clip to enactment and her trainer, and dedicated almost no clip to dating.

Nor does she expect to person overmuch clip now. "I hardly adjacent get to spot my friends," she said. "I'm mostly conscionable focused connected getting the occupation done. I person 1 twelvemonth to truly catapult my career—this is simply a immense stepping chromatic for me, truthful that's truly the priority."

And she really didn't consciousness large astir it until conscionable a fewer days beforehand.

"It was like, 'I person been truthful stressed, it's been so tough, I don't cognize if I tin do this,'" she said, describing her 11th-hour jitters. "Then I was praying astir it a batch and God granted maine intelligence clarity going into Miss Universe. I had my caput connected consecutive successful the contention and I ended up winning it. So it's a immense blessing." (And erstwhile it was over, the archetypal happening she ate was a quesadilla.)

The Miss USA controversy did come up successful her closed-door interviews with the judging committees and, Gabriel said, "I was honest. There's thing to hide. This is a communicative of pushing past negativity and I consciousness stronger from it. I consciousness truly prepared to beryllium Miss Universe present due to the fact that the net tin accidental immoderate it wants but I consciousness precise beardown successful who I am."

And it was each successful work of becoming what Gabriel calls a "transformational leader," idiosyncratic who has harnessed her calling and translated it into action. 

Learning to sew arsenic a small miss inspired her emotion of manner and design, and since graduating from the University of North Texas she has launched her ain sustainable covering line, R'Bonney Nola, and teaches sewing to survivors of home unit and quality trafficking. She is besides a pb teacher astatine Magpies & Peacocks, a non-profit plan halfway successful Houston. (And if 1 time that enactment extends to dressing Beyoncé, truthful beryllium it: "She's a Houston girl, I'm a Houston girl, and I respect her truthful much," Gabriel said erstwhile asked to sanction her imagination personage client, "so I'm going to enactment that retired there.")

Ultimately, she concluded, making it each the way to Miss Universe reinforced wherefore she started competing successful pageants successful the archetypal place, "not lone to beryllium a amended communicator, but to amplify my dependable utilizing manner arsenic a unit for good, pushing much sustainability successful that manufacture and inspiring people," she explained. "My intent is thing that cipher tin instrumentality distant from me. People tin instrumentality distant my prizes oregon my team, oregon antithetic perks of the title, but they could ne'er instrumentality distant my goals and my dreams."

"I'm utilizing my passionateness that I've realized to alteration lives," she said, "and I truly anticipation this connection resonates with people, to recognize that we each person a acquisition to springiness to the world."