When Jaime VandenBerg walked the Miss Universe 2025 stage in Thailand last November, the cameras captured her moving through the swimsuit competition with poise and confidence, earning Canada a spot in the top 30. What the audience at home did not know was that she was four months pregnant at the time. More than three months after the pageant, the 29-year-old revealed the news in an Instagram video that quickly captured the attention of fans and media alike, reframing her entire performance in a new and striking light.
VandenBerg announced the pregnancy on March 2nd through a video that paired two clips filmed roughly three months apart. The first showed her on the Miss Universe stage in Thailand, wearing a two-piece swimsuit under the bright competition lights. The second, far more recent, showed her with a visibly rounded belly, unpacking a baby car seat at home. The contrast between the two moments was deliberate and deeply personal. “From the Miss Universe stage to the third trimester, setting up the car seat and stroller,” she wrote in the caption, before revealing the detail that made the announcement truly remarkable. “I was 16 weeks pregnant, four months, when I competed in the swimsuit competition and made the top 30. Being pregnant while achieving a dream I once thought was impossible… Today it feels liberating to share: I am pregnant.”
The announcement carried weight beyond the personal because of what it represents within the context of Miss Universe’s recent evolution as an organization. Until 2023, the pageant had strict eligibility rules limiting participation to unmarried women between the ages of 18 and 28. That changed when the organization lifted the age restriction and opened competition to mothers and married women as well, a shift that significantly broadened who could take part. VandenBerg acknowledged this directly in her post, framing her experience as a living demonstration of what the new rules were meant to make possible. “Given the rule changes, let this placement be proof that motherhood doesn’t mean the end of ambition, and pregnancy is not a barrier,” she wrote. “With a strong community supporting you, it is possible to dream multiple things at once.”
She also looked ahead to the significance of her upcoming reign. “It will be an honor to become the first Miss Universe Canada to serve her term as a mother,” she added, a statement that speaks not only to her own pride but to the broader cultural moment the pageant is navigating as it works to reflect a wider range of women’s lives and experiences.
VandenBerg’s story arrives alongside other signs that the pageant’s inclusivity shift is continuing to gain momentum. Earlier this year, fashion brand founder Christina Dietze, 38, announced she would be competing for the title of Miss Universe Australia, making her the oldest contestant in that national competition’s history. Reflecting on her decision in a February post, Dietze wrote: “This moment aligns perfectly with the woman I am today. Being selected is such an honor. I could not wipe the smile off my face. I could not feel more blessed.” Together, the two women represent a version of the Miss Universe world that looks considerably different from the one that existed just a few years ago.
The Miss Universe organization has been held by JKN Global Group, a Thai media and entertainment company, since 2022, and the rule changes that allowed VandenBerg to compete were among the first major policy shifts under that ownership. What makes the sixteen-week detail particularly astonishing from a purely physical standpoint is that the first trimester’s most intense symptoms, including exhaustion and nausea, typically peak around weeks eight to ten and begin to ease by weeks twelve to fourteen, meaning VandenBerg would have been transitioning out of the hardest phase just as she stepped onto an international stage to compete.
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