Another Miss Universe Scandal: Miss Dominican Republic Carlina Duran Dethroned for Being a Missus!

Recently crowned winner wed in 2009—which disqualifies her from competing—but says she never thought of herself as "materially or spiritually married"

By Rebecca Macatee Apr 26, 2012 5:41 PMTags
Carlina DuranERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

Carlina Duran is no longer pageant royalty.

The recently crowned Miss Dominican Republic will have to relinquish his title because she's actually a Mrs.

The rules of the competition state that those competing for the crown must be single. It was discovered, however, that Duran, 25, was married in 2009.

During a press conference Wednesday, Duran was forced to hand over her crown to runner up Dulcita Lieggi. As excerpted by Contact Music, Duran said the misunderstanding regarding her eligibility for the contest was a result of "the fruit of my inexperience."

And while Duran doesn't deny that she wed in 2009, she maintains that she never thought of herself as "materially nor spiritually married."

"I remained like a single woman," she said, adding that the marriage had been a brief one and the annulment process had begun. (She didn't specify whether the annulment had been finalized.)

This isn't the first Miss Universe scandal to make headlines. Last month, a transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant, Jenna Talackova, was disqualified when pageant officials discovered she was not born a woman. Two weeks later, the organization changed its rules, officially allowing women who are transgender to participate in the competition.

And don't get us started on pantyless contestants or a certain homophobic former Miss Universe champ...