Joyce Prado of Bolivia competes in the swimsuit competition during the 2018 Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok on December 13, 2018. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images)
Miss Bolivia has agreed to forfeit her crown after learning she had become pregnant; Fox News has learned.
In a statement from Bolivia-based modeling agency Promociones Gloria, Joyce Prado, 22, who won the Miss Bolivia crown last year, is said to have spoken to agency owner Gloria Mariana Limpias about not being able to fulfill her duties as the country’s beauty queen – and a mutual decision was made to vacate her coveted title.
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“It is clear that within the contract there are clauses that she must comply with, but for reasons of confidentiality, we cannot publish them. However, the reason she is no longer Miss Bolivia is that she came to talk to us because she was not going to be able to fulfill any of the activities that she had to do as a Miss Bolivia,” read the statement.
“Our company is Pro-life and we cannot make Miss Bolivia fulfill her obligations while pregnant. It is for this reason that it was agreed that she live this stage of her life in a calm manner which can fully devote to her pregnancy. Joyce continues to be a model for the company and we maintain a beautiful relationship. We hope that later she can continue working with us.”
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On Friday, the modeling agency shared a statement on Facebook in which they claimed Prado “has been dismissed from its crowns as Miss Santa Cruz and Miss Bolivia for reasons that are strictly related to breach of contract, leaving record that we maintain cordial relations in a scope of mutual understanding, safeguarding the confidentiality clause.”
The agency also shared a magazine headline to Instagram on Sunday that indicated Prado no longer held the Miss Bolivia crown because of her pregnancy, spurring confusion that the beauty queen was forced to give up her crown.
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Prado and her fiancé, Paraguayan model Rodrigo Gimenez, confirmed pregnancy rumors on Sunday when they shared the baby news via their respective Instagram accounts along with lengthy captions.
“The miracle of life is indescribable, especially when it comes to the arrival of a new member of the family. Becoming a Father or Mother may be the most important challenge that comes our way in life, but just as it can be difficult, it can also be the most rewarding thing in the world,” Prado wrote.
“I want to share with you that I am the happiest woman in the world because my life is full of love because together with the man of my dreams we are beginning to live the most beautiful stage of our lives: becoming parents.”
The model continued: “Ever since I knew I would become a mother, I cannot stop imagining how I will look with my baby in my arms. I've never never imagined feeling such a great emotion just knowing that from within me there is a seed that grows every day and the only thing that I ask God to be born safe and sound that his daddy @rodrigodanielpy and I will take care of protecting him and training him all the love we have to give him.”
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According to the Miss Universe rules, "contestants may not be married or pregnant. They must not have ever been married, not had a marriage annulled nor given birth to, or parented a child. The titleholders are also required to remain unmarried throughout their reign."
A rep for the worldwide beauty pageant did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
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