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.

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."

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."

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"    

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."

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."