FNM Exclusive: Former Miss USA Alyssa Campanella Explains Why Blondes Don't Always Have More Fun

Campanella at the 2011 Miss America Pageant. (Reuters)

After seeing photos from her jet-setting, style-savvy adventures at The A List, it's hard to imagine a time when Alyssa Campanella wasn't the most outgoing woman in the world. But as Alyssa herself assures us, there was such a time.

Campanella has never been afraid to follow her dreams, but the fashion and travel blogger (who also served as Miss USA in 2011) tells FNM she used to be a bit bashful in her younger years — until a simple trip to the salon changed everything.

"I was naturally a blonde and I found myself quite shy," claims Campanella. "And then as soon as I turned red for a part in a play, it was instantly like this fiery personality just came out."

"What's interesting is even though I'm starting to transition back to blonde, the fiery personality is still there … Maybe redheads do have more fun."

But even though Campanella is slowly ditching the fiery red tresses she rocked during her reign, she's still super proud of the work she accomplished as a model Miss USA.

"Being Miss USA is more than just getting glammed up and going to all these red carpets," says Campanella. "On days that you think Miss USA has days off, she doesn't. She spends most of her hours volunteering. My year, I think we worked with five different charities. And so on my day off, I was either cooking for those who were too sick to cook for themselves, or I was working with people who have suffered from ovarian cancer, or breast cancer."

"There's a lot [more] that goes into Miss USA than just being a celebrity," she adds. "It's really a hands-on opportunity."

These days, we can catch Campanella applying that same strong work ethic to her wanderlust-inducing website — but if we do say so ourselves, she looks like she's having just as much fun as a blogging blonde as she did a reigning redhead.

Watch the rest of our interview with Campanella to find out how she got started blogging, then keep scrolling for photos from her trendy travels.