Miss Universe to allow married women, mothers to compete for first time

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The Miss Universe beauty pageant is expanding eligibility for its competition by allowing mothers and married women to enter. 

Beginning in 2023, marital and parental status will no longer affect pageant contestants' eligibility. 

Until now, the Miss Universe pageant's rules have stated that Miss Universe winners must be single and remain so their entire tenure with the title. 

Mothers have also been historically excluded, and winners have traditionally been expected not to become pregnant while reigning as Miss Universe.

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Miss Mexico Andrea Meza is crowned Miss Universe 2020 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on May 16, 2021. (Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images)

Miss Universe 2020 winner Andrea Meza of Mexico applauded the rule change.

"I honestly love that this is happening," Meza said in an interview with Insider. "Just like society changes and women are now occupying leadership positions where in the past only men could, it was about time pageants changed and opened up to women with families."

Meza called the rules until now "sexist" and "unrealistic" in their attempt to curate a winner most appealing to the widest audience.

Miss Universe Andrea Meza visits the Old City of Jerusalem on Nov. 17, 2021, ahead of the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)

"A few people are against these changes because they always wanted to see a single beautiful woman who is available for a relationship," Meza added. "They always wanted to see a woman that, from the outside, looks so perfect that she's almost unreachable. The former is sexist and the latter is unrealistic."

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The Miss Universe competition airs in more than 160 territories and countries across the globe, including in the U.S on the FYI channel and on Telemundo.