Miss USA Morgan Romano Shares Swimsuit Photo “In the Cancun Sun”

Miss USA 2022 Morgan Romano is looking back on a wonderful vacation she took last year in Cancun, Mexico. Romano, 25, shared a throwback photo of herself enjoying an outdoor shower in a beautiful resort, wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit. “A year ago in the Cancún sun ☀️,” she captioned the post. “Missing this trip and you so much 🥹😍,” commented Miss Maine 2022 Elizabeth Kervin. How does Romano balance her pageant responsibilities with her intense day job? Here are five lifestyle factors she swears by.

1. Healthy Lifestyle

Romano says she is of course extra careful about diet and exercise in the run up to pageants and competitions, especially if she knows she will be wearing a bikini, but for the most part she lives a very healthy lifestyle. “It's not just because of this industry—I've always eaten pretty healthy, I was a competitive dancer my whole life,” she says. “I did ballet, and you have to fuel your body with good fuel to be able to perform your best. It's a lifestyle for me. It's always been that way.”

2. No Restrictive Diets

Romano refuses to follow any restrictive diets that eliminate entire food groups, saying it would not be sustainable for her. “I don't restrict anything, I don't count calories, I don't weigh myself,” she says. “It's about balance. I eat pretty healthy in the week but, for example, this past weekend I was in Charleston, North Carolina and I went to Mexican for dinner. And then at midnight I had a Chick-fil-A sandwich. If my body is telling me you want ice cream, I'm going to go get ice cream and not feel bad about it.”

3. At Home Workouts

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Romano prefers at-home workouts to gym sessions, although she enjoys classes. “I used to do CrossFit but it’s hard on your body,” she says. “I had good results but it was too much.” Romano always fuels herself before a workout. “I can’t function if I’m hungry.I have low blood sugar, I will pass out, I’ll be cranky… they’ll be asking me questions in an interview and I’ll just be like ‘I don’t know.’ I can’t think straight. I have got to eat”

4. Hannah Montana Double life

Romano describes herself as having a “Hannah Montana-like double life” where she is a chemical engineer by day and training for pageants by night. “My chemistry teacher in high school told me about [engineering]. But on the other side, I grew up being a competitive dancer my whole life and loving being a performer and being on stage; and I was a girly girl, and I loved to dress up and wear heels and wear crowns. It's so funny. We have so many photos of me as a little girl in plastic crowns, and now I'm Miss USA, so I guess I was destined for it.”

5. STEM Activism

Romano is passionate about being a role model for young girls who want to be in STEM. “We need more women (in STEM) and that starts at a younger age because your curiosity and the things you’re passionate about start to shape when you’re young,” she says. “If kids aren’t being told about STEM, how would they know to ever pursue it? I went through elementary, middle and high school and no one ever talked to me about STEM opportunities. I just stumbled upon it and checked the box for chemical engineering and had no idea what to expect.”

It’s time for the 2021 Miss Universe pageant! That means incredible evening gowns, pageant answers, and impressive swimsuits, this year in Eilat, Israel. The swimsuit competition is one of the most important part of every pageant, including Miss Universe. These ladies looked incredible in their swimsuits during a dress rehearsal, and must have received high marks at the competition. Read on to see 10 different looks—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. Miss Australia, Daria Varlamova

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Miss Australia, Daria Varlamova, went bold with her bathing suit. She chose a bright pink swimsuit, with a leopard print cover-up, which looked incredible with her blonde hair and pale skin. Varlamova is currently a MBA student, and is studying psychotherapy.

2. Miss USA, Elle Smith

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Miss USA, Elle Smith, originally from Kentucky, went with a black bathing suit with large buttons and accents. Smith received her degree in political science from the Florence University of the Arts in Florence, Italy, and is currently a journalist.

3. Miss Sweden, Moa Sandburg

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Miss Sweden, Moa Sandburg, went for a unique swimsuit for the competition. Sandburg wore a one-piece, black, sleeveless swimsuit, to complement her dark hair and pale skin. She is currently learning sign language, and is working towards owning her own hostel in Asia.

4. Miss Spain, Sarah Loinaz

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Miss Spain, Sarah Loinaz, went with a dark pink bathing suit with a large buckle on the bottom. The color looked incredible with her skin tone and black hair. Loinaz is passionate about marine life, and educates people about ocean pollution in Spain.

5. Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane

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Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, wore a white bathing suit with gold buttons, and had her hair up in a high ponytail. Mswane is an accomplished dancer, having trained in ballet and flamenco. She is also working towards helping South Africa’s unemployment rates.

6. Miss Canada, Tamara Jemuovic

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Miss Canada, Tamara Jemuovic, went with a black one-piece swimsuit with a buckle on the chest, kept her blonde hair wavy, and even did a twirl on stage. In addition to her pageant career, Jemuovic is a licensed real estate broker, and even founded her own cruelty-free cosmetics line.

7. Miss Russia, Ralina Arabova

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Miss Russia, Ralina Arabova, also went with a one-piece swimsuit. Arabova’s swimsuit was dark pink with a large buckle, and she kept her dark hair straight. Arabova currently attended two different universities, studies advertising, law, and public relations, and is on her school’s standup comedy team.

8. Miss Cameroon, Akoma Minkata

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Miss Cameroon, Akoma Minkata, went with a white bathing suit with gold buttons. She wore her hair in a low ponytail, and added hoop earrings to her look. Minkata is passionate about several causes, and works with both Smile Train, and the Roger Milla Foundation.

9. Miss Turkey, Cemrenaz Turhan

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Miss Turkey, Cemrenaz Turhan, wore a dark pink bathing suit with silver accents, and had her bellybutton ring showing.

10. Miss Bolivia, Nahemi Uequin

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Miss Bolivia, Nehemi Uequin, wore a white bathing suit with a large buckle, and showed off her impressive abs. In addition, Antelo works to raise awareness about the femicide in Bolivia, and experienced a lot of cyber bullying while competing in her national pageant.

Last night, the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel's southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat crowned its winner: Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu. She urged those watching, particularly young people, to "know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others” and added "I believed in myself, and that's why I'm standing here today.” One of the components of the competition is the long-standing bathing suit competition. Read on to see what the 10 contestants, including the winner, looked like—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu—The Winner!

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Harnaaz Sandhu from Punjab, India, was crowned Miss Universe last night. She does yoga to keep it calm. “Yoga and meditation helps me to connect and integrate with my consciousness and helps me tap into a connection with my surroundings in a much deeper way,” she wrote on Instagram recently.

2. Miss Philippines, Beatrice Gomez

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Afgter making history as the first openly bisexual woman to be crowned Miss Philippines, Beatrice Gomez made it into the final rounds of Miss Universe. She was once a soldier. “'Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn,’” she once captioned an Instagram post, quoting Benjamin Franklin. She added: “I had the honor of learning basic rifle marksmanship straight from the best snipers of Ph Navy as part of the Pagsasama Exercise 2021 to enhance the readiness and inter-operability of the reserve and regular force.”

3. Miss Paraguay, Nadia Ferreira

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Runner-up Nadia Ferreira said of the pageant prelims: “I still can’t believe this just happened, days are going so fast that I can’t even realize, that could only be because I’m enjoying this journey!

My heart is fulfilled with love and happiness, I’m officially PARAGUAY in the eyes of the world.

Thank you GOD for all this blessings, for this wonderful family, for my mother, my national organization, my team and all of you who are supporting me from abroad. Each one of you have been an important piece in this roller coaster of emotions!! THANK YOU!!”

4. Miss Vietnam, Nguyen Huynh Kim Duyen

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She said of the process: “I just want to say thank you for all of your love. Because of your support and encouragement, I had my amazing Miss Universe journey! This is the biggest dream in my life and I believe that I have enjoyed every moment at Miss Universe! I am forever grateful for all the love and support from my family, my parents, my brother, my relatives and my friends. I would like to express my gratitude to Unimedia Team for accompanying me on this journey. Everyone has become my biggest motivation! I am eternally grateful to the Designers, stylists, Makeup Artists, Photographers, Film-makers, Journalists/media reporters and fans for supporting me in this journey!”

5. Miss Aruba, Thessaly Zimmerman

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She said of the preliminaries: “Still mind blown about last night at the preliminary show of @missuniverse . It was such an honor to be able to stand on that stage and say Aruba’s name out loud and carry it with pride on my sash through out the competition.” Thank you to each and every one of you that helped make my dream come through 🙏🏾❤️.

6. Miss Colombia, Valeria Ayos

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Said she: “Majestuoso es el vestido de gala que lucí en la preliminar @missuniverse. Su diseñador, Alfredo Barraza, logró crear y confeccionar, especialmente para mí, un radiante atuendo que me hizo sentir extraordinaria en pasarela. Gracias a Dios y a todos por su apoyo. Sigo trabajando para llevar la tercera corona de Miss Universe al país. Los amo Colombia.” Which translates to: “The majestic ball gown that I wore in the preliminary @missuniverse±Its designer, Alfredo Barraza, managed to create and tailor, especially for me, a radiant outfit that made me feel extraordinary on the catwalk. Thank you God and everyone for your support. I am still working to bring the third Miss Universe crown to the country. I love you Colombia."

7. Miss Japan, Juri Watanabe

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Before the show, she said on Instagram: “Before I go on stage, I would like to take a moment to thank the @missuniversejapan team for all the support they’ve given me to get to this point. There were countless hours and effort on their end for me to not only get to Israel, but also for me to evolve into who I am now. Tonight, I’m standing on stage not just as Juri Watanabe, but as the Miss Universe Japan Team and Japan. I left everything on stage during the preliminary round but I’m itching to show more. So now we pray for me to have another chance of giving it another 200% on stage.”

8. Miss Singapore, Nandita Banna

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Of a particularly customized piece—which “weaves the intricacies ranging from familiar landmarks to notable incidents that make up Singapore’s unique stories into a cohesive map of our mighty red dot”— Banna said “Capturing the minute details of Singapore helps us to understand our roots and reflect on how far we have come while setting a solid foundation for us as we strive towards our future. The head piece with the five stars arising represents the country’s values of Democracy, Peace, Progress, Justice, and Equality therefore, reminding us of how each is a beacon of light to guide our way.”

9. Miss France, Clemence Botino

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Botino, despite being fully vaccinated, nearly missed the competition, due to contracting COVID before the event. But after a 10 day quarantine, she was allowed back in to participate. “Somebody is out of quarantine,” she posted on Wednesday from the airport in Tel Aviv heading to Eilat. “Happy to catch the sun again,” she added.

10. Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane

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The second runner up had a great time in Haifa. “I always thought South Africa has the friendliest people on earth but it might be rivaled by Israel,” she told the Jerusalem Post.