But Fátima wasn’t the only one dealing with controversy during this year’s Miss Universe pageant. Additionally, two of the pageant’s judges resigned, with one accusing organizers of rigging the competition and another threatening a lawsuit against them, per NBC News.
Still, Fátima and her fellow winners—first runner-up Miss Thailand Praveener Singh, 29, and second runner-up Miss Venezuela Stephany Adriana Abasali Nasser, 25—aren’t letting any of it stop them from enjoying their accomplishments.
“I carried this dream in my heart for years,” the official Miss Universe Instagram wrote on Nov. 21 alongside a video of Fátima’s win, “and today, I’m living it.”
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
