Jaime VandenBerg Hid Her Miss Universe Pregnancy to Protect the Work Behind Her Crown
Jaime VandenBerg Hid Her Miss Universe Pregnancy to Protect the Work Behind Her Crown
Neda MarkovicTue, August 4, 2026 at 12:23 AM UTC
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Image Credit: missjaimeyvonne/ Instagram.
Jaime VandenBerg kept her pregnancy private while competing at Miss Universe because she did not want years of advocacy and preparation reduced to a single label.
The 29-year-old represented Canada at the 2025 pageant in Bangkok while 16 weeks pregnant and advanced to the Top 30.
In a new interview with People, VandenBerg revealed that neither her family nor the Miss Universe Canada organization knew she was expecting during the competition.
She discovered the pregnancy while completing a modeling contract in Mexico City. Although the news came earlier than expected, VandenBerg said she and her boyfriend, Aaron Hernandez, had already discussed the possibility of starting a family.
She Wanted Her Advocacy to Remain the Focus
VandenBerg worried that publicly announcing her pregnancy would cause viewers to see her primarily as “the pregnant contestant.” “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,” she said.
VandenBerg’s platform centered on raising awareness about gender-based violence after she survived a near-fatal shooting in Colombia in 2021. She previously said an armed man followed her after a meeting with her modeling agency and attempted to shoot her at close range. A stranger intervened as the gun was fired, causing the bullet to miss her by inches.
VandenBerg subsequently drew on that experience in her advocacy and work supporting survivors. Her broader record of philanthropy and community service earned her the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022.
VandenBerg also valued having one significant part of her life remain private during a period when nearly everything else was public. “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,” she said. “I really loved that we did that because it made the pregnancy feel that much more intimate.”
Her Partner Encouraged Her to Continue Competing
Learning that she was pregnant immediately changed VandenBerg’s priorities and made her reconsider whether she should compete at all. Representing Canada at Miss Universe had been her goal for more than a decade, but she said becoming a mother suddenly felt more important than winning another crown.
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Hernandez encouraged her to continue so she could close that chapter of her life without wondering what might have happened. “He reminded me that he would support me through every challenge and that competing would allow me to close this chapter of my life without regret or wondering ‘what if,’” VandenBerg said.
Before traveling to Thailand, she consulted her physician and completed the medical requirements needed to participate. Her doctor told her that pregnancy was not an illness and explained that years of pageant preparation had already conditioned her body for the physical demands involved. He advised her to listen carefully to her body throughout the month-long competition.
She Adjusted Her Wardrobe as Her Body Changed
VandenBerg said she experienced no morning sickness and generally felt strong throughout the pageant. She nevertheless planned her wardrobe around the possibility that her body could change quickly during her second trimester.
VandenBerg wore more fitted pieces earlier in the competition and saved stretchier, more forgiving silhouettes for later appearances. Rather than noticing a baby bump, some viewers speculated that she had undergone breast augmentation because pregnancy had changed her chest size. VandenBerg said she found the comments amusing.
She Revealed the Pregnancy Months Later
VandenBerg publicly revealed her pregnancy in a March 2 Instagram Reel that placed footage from the Miss Universe swimsuit round beside video of her preparing a car seat and stroller during her third trimester. “What the world didn’t know: I was 16 weeks pregnant when I competed in swimwear and placed Top 30,” she wrote.
The Miss Universe Organization had expanded its eligibility rules in 2023 to allow mothers and married women to compete. It also removed the competition’s previous upper age limit.
“With the evolution of Miss Universe rules, I hope this moment shows that motherhood is not the end of ambition and that pregnancy is not a limitation,” she wrote when revealing the news.
She Welcomed Daughter Charlotte in May
VandenBerg and Hernandez welcomed their daughter, Charlotte Nicole Hernandez-VandenBerg, on May 14. She has since retired from pageantry after becoming the first Canadian woman to win the country’s four major national titles: Miss Universe Canada, Miss World Canada, Miss International Canada and Miss Earth Canada.
VandenBerg plans to continue coaching and mentoring contestants, but she said motherhood is now her primary focus. “Pregnancy and motherhood are not the end of a youthful, ambitious chapter of life; they are an evolution of it,” she told People.
“Motherhood can deepen your perspective, strengthen your purpose and motivate you to pursue your dreams with even greater determination.”
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
