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Jaime VandenBerg is breaking down the reason she decided to hide her pregnancy while competing at Miss Universe in 2025.
“We did not tell our family nor the Miss Universe Canada organization at that time, and chose to keep it to ourselves for quite some time,” VandenBerg told People in an interview published on Sunday, August 2. “I really loved that we did that because it made the pregnancy feel that much more intimate in an era of my life where everything was so in the public eye.”
VandenBerg explained that she wanted to be judged based on her work rather than her pregnancy. (VandenBerg has raised awareness about gender-based violence after surviving a near-fatal shooting in 2021.)
“I felt strongly that if I announced my pregnancy publicly, I risked becoming viewed primarily as ‘the pregnant contestant,’ rather than being evaluated for my advocacy work, my resilience and the decade of dedication that led me there,” VandenBerg said. “I feared that no one would pay attention to my philanthropy anymore, and I would only be seen under the veil of my pregnancy.”
VandenBerg, who discovered she was pregnant while working on a modeling contract in Mexico City, added that finding out she was going to be a mother changed her priorities.
“Representing Canada at Miss Universe had been my dream for over a decade, but the moment I found out I was pregnant, my perspective shifted completely,” VandenBerg recalled. “Suddenly, my greatest dream was simply to be a good mother to a healthy baby, and that had felt more powerful than my dream of becoming Miss Universe.”
Ultimately, however, VandenBerg did compete in Miss Universe, where Fátima Bosch of Mexico ultimately walked away with the coveted title. VandenBerg went on to announce her pregnancy in March.
“While we weren’t necessarily trying to start a family, [my boyfriend] Aaron [Hernandez] and I had spoken extensively about the possibility of pregnancy,” she said. “I wasn’t on any form of birth control, and I felt very ready in my life that if it happened, I would feel incredibly happy and blessed.”
VandenBerg and Hernandez welcomed their daughter, Charlotte Nicole Hernandez-VandenBerg, in May. Since giving birth, VandenBerg has retired from pageantry and is instead focusing solely on motherhood.
“As a survivor of violence, I truly believe there is no greater gift than life itself. To be able to experience that gift alongside my daughter and simply be here for her feels like the greatest blessing imaginable,” VandenBerg said. “To me, success is not measured by fame or money, but by the number of happy memories you create. That is the kind of success I hope to build through motherhood.”
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