The new docuseries Secrets of Miss America premieres on July 10 and dives into the long-kept secrets of America’s oldest beauty pageant and exposes the shocking scandals at the center of it all. HollywoodLife has an EXCLUSIVE preview of the premiere that features former Miss America winners talking about their experiences when they wore the crown.
“From the moment you are crowned to the end of your year, your life is not yours nor do you have time to think about it,” Miss American 2017 Savvy Shields says. “During my year, I was not allowed to share that I had a boyfriend. It was made clear that Sam [Haskell] was in charge and what he said went. Boyfriends were not allowed to exist when you’re Miss America.”
Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan revealed that “behind the scenes, there were rules like no men are allowed in your hotel room, including your father.” While she had “so many phenomenal moments as Miss America,” the reality of the job is that it’s “24 hours a day, every day of the week, for the entirety of the year.”
Miss America 2001 Angela Perez Baraquio added, “I don’t think anyone can prepare you for that year. They literally gave us a folder with all your appearances and your itineraries only for one month in advance because it’s so daunting to see the whole year ahead of you.”
Betty Maxwell, who won the Miss America title in 2016, explained how her homecoming trip became nothing but drama. One of her friend’s boyfriends brought her Taco Bell, and then someone called then-CEO Sam Haskell and told him that Betty’s boyfriend spent the night with her.
“And then I was reamed out by Sam Haskell for something I didn’t do,” Betty says. “They’re very, very, very anti-boyfriend because they want you to look like you’re America’s sweetheart. They’re trying to be feminists and #MeToo and all these things and at the same time they’re like not thinking that every young 20-something is dating someone.” Secrets of Miss America will air Mondays at 10 p.m. on A&E.