A 25-year old Dominican beauty who recently became the new Miss Dominican Republic is being dethroned, pageant officials said.
Carlina Durán, a 5-foot-11 professional model, is being stripped of her title because she’s married.
The rules state that those vying for the crown must be single. Magaly Febles, director of the Miss Dominican Republic contest, said Durán wed in 2009.
Durán said in a statement read at a Wednesday night news conference that she had never lived with her husband and the marriage was never consummated.
"In my daily life, I remained like a single woman, without thinking of myself neither materially nor spiritually married," said the statement, read by her lawyer, Radhames Cornielle.
The statement also said the marriage was brief, and the couple had begun annulment proceedings. The statement didn't specify whether the annulment was finalized.
Durán's statement called her decision to hide her marriage from the contest organizers the "fruit of my inexperience."
The stunner, who was all smiles when the jury announced her the winner last week, gave up the crown to first runner-up, 24-year-old Dulcita Lieggi, at a news conference.
The 25-year-old Durán, who owns a spa in Santo Domingo, hails from the town of La Vega, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) north of the nation's capital. She was crowned Miss Dominican Republic on April 17 and was to represent her country at the Miss Universe contest.
The Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reported on its website Tuesday that a marriage license showed she was wed on June 6, 2009.
Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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