When Jordon Hudson takes the stage to compete for the title of Miss Maine USA this weekend, she’ll be introducing herself to a new audience.
Representing her hometown of Hancock, Maine, Hudson is competing in three phases of preliminary competition on May 10 — interview, swimsuit and evening gown — to move on to the finals on May 11. Should she win the crown, she’d serve her title before competing in the Miss USA pageant.
Hudson’s pageant aspirations may be lesser known compared to her high-profile relationship with former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
The 24-year-old has been a constant presence and “creative muse” for the 73-year-old UNC football coach. She’s been by his side since taking their relationship public, including in photos on her Instagram account, the NFL Honors, a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial and most recently, his CBS Sunday Morning interview.
Belichick and Hudson at q game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils on March 8 in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Before that viral moment, she took to her Instagram on April 9 to announce that she’d compete for the title.
So with companionship, confidence and the world curious about her every move, why, exactly, is Hudson competing in a pageant?
Pageants have long been known as a starting point for women with big dreams, including stars like Diane Sawyer and Halle Berry. They’ve been parodied in classic films like Drop Dead Gorgeous and Miss Congeniality, and contested by some as an antiquated sign of eras past. But when you’re someone like Hudson, whose name is already splashed across every publication at the grocery store checkout, the reason to participate feels a bit more mysterious.
“I think motivations vary so much from person to person,” Julia Van Steenberghe, who won Miss Maine USA in 2020, told Yahoo Entertainment. “For some, the platform of pageantry can be an extension of what they’re already doing. Even with a public profile, the stage offers a different kind of personal challenge — one rooted in discipline, purpose and impact. For many, it’s not about fame at all.”
During her reign as Miss Maine USA, Van Steenberghe worked to raise awareness about food insecurity in Maine, fundraised and volunteered with organizations like Good Shepherd Food Bank and Best Buddies.
Van Steenberghe, 26, said she was attracted to the pageant world for its ability to open doors to the entertainment, modeling and related industries. However, her main motivation was the potential to “become comfortable in any room or setting I entered.”
Today, she’s the director of student success and recruitment at the Maine Business School. She still has one foot in the pageant world, consulting for pageant contestants and professionals on public speaking, personal brand and presentation.
“I work with clients across all divisions and systems, from teens to women in their 40s competing for the first time, and their motivations are so diverse,” said Van Steenberghe. “Some want visibility, sure, but others are looking to build confidence, make new connections or simply prove to themselves that they can do something outside their comfort zone.”
Hannah Trottier-Braun, 24, is competing alongside Hudson in this weekend’s competition. While the potential to travel to compete in the Miss USA pageant is an exciting prize, she sees the competition as the ultimate opportunity.
“You get to do all of these things that you may not have had the ability to do if you weren’t Miss Maine USA,” Trottier-Braun, who is representing Lewiston, Maine, and is graduating from law school later this month, told Yahoo.
Winners get to collaborate with a model placement group, work with photographers on photo shoots, make connections through networking and attend galas and charitable events.
“Also, you get a bunch of advocacy opportunities. You get to work with all these different organizations that are working to better society, which is inspiring. And it’s really fun to be able to have the opportunity to be a leader on that level,” she said.
Isabelle St. Cyr, 24, is representing Monson, Maine, in the pageant this weekend. A farmer who makes most of her income selling duck eggs, she’s the first openly transgender woman to compete in Miss Maine USA.
When it comes to each contestant’s goals for entering the competition, St. Cyr told Yahoo it’s different for everyone.
“Everyone has their own reasons for doing pageants. I think that every competitor has something about it that is their favorite — some people do it for the runway because they’re trying to make it in the world of modeling. Then some people may have a social platform or are more into politics and want to represent what they believe in onstage. I think that we all have very different motivations going into it.”
Whatever drives them, St. Cyr says the world of pageants has evolved significantly, noting that the Miss Universe organization, which includes Miss USA, lifted its ban on transgender contestants in 2012. Additional revisions have been made to the Miss Universe system in recent years, including changes to age restrictions and allowing married women to participate.
Everyone has their own reasons for doing pageants. I think that every competitor has something about it that is their favorite.
“They were known for vanity way back in the day,” said St. Cyr of pageants. “But [now], they’re known for inspiring confidence and breaking boundaries and learning how to represent yourself. I love how that’s changed.”
Representative for the Clemente Organization, which produces the Miss Maine USA competition, didn’t respond to Yahoo’s requests for comment.
Hudson isn’t the first contestant with a sizable online following who competes in pageants. Hannah Neeleman, a Utah social media influencer whose 10 million Instagram followers know her as Ballerina Farm, was 20 weeks pregnant with her eighth child, Flora Jo, when she won the title of Mrs. American in 2023, a competition specifically for married women.
In February 2024, she competed in the Mrs. World pageant, just two weeks after giving birth to her daughter.
As for Hudson’s motivations, she took to Instagram in January to celebrate pageants, comparing “Beauty Queens” to “Contemporary Suffragettes.”
“A little known fact is that pageantry in the USA was birthed in 1921, in the wake of the Women’s Suffrage Movement; with the title sashes emulating those of the great women warriors who fought for our Rights as Women,” Hudson wrote. “Like feminism, pageantry is malleable & looks a lot different now than it did 104 years ago, however, the essence and mission to perpetuate Women’s Rights and Empowerment is never-changing.”
She continued, “Sure, both ‘feminism’ & ‘pageantry’ have flaws and connotative aspects (as does every other ‘industry’), but we are all dedicated to finding the solutions to all of these issues. Let it not be mistaken that our intentions are anything aside from deep and pure.”
It’s also possible that, like Belichick, she may just like to win.
“Maybe she’s just trying to come back to get a title,” said St. Cyr. “Because last year she got first runner-up.”
