Mari Pepin left Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 engaged to Kenny Braasch, and the twosome is still together today and just celebrated their one-year anniversary.
As a beauty pageant contestant, Mari most recently won Miss Maryland USA in 2019 and then placed in the Top 10 at the Miss USA pageant.
With Kenny’s insistence and support, Mari decided to do one more pageant to add to her repertoire.
Being from Puerto Rico, specifically Luquillo, Mari entered the Miss Mundo Puerto Rico beauty pageant representing her hometown of Luquillo.
Mari Pepin reveals how she did in the Miss Puerto Rico pageant
Recently, Mari added a post to her Instagram account to let everyone know how she finished in the Miss Mundo Puerto Rico pageant.
She started by telling everyone thank you for their love, support, and guidance as she went through the process.
Mari then revealed, “Team Luquillo, last night we placed in the Top 7 at Mundo Puerto Rico! Although I didn’t walk away w the crown… I am SO FREAKING PROUD of myself for making it as far as I did, for accomplishing so many other goals along the way, and for proving to myself that I could do it!”
She went on to state, “It was a long and often stressful journey, but I pushed myself to stay committed and focused, and kept my dream of carrying Puerto Rico across my chest as motivation.”
Mari then posted, “I’ve grown in so many ways, gained a few new sisters for life, learned so much about myself and have embraced living in my beautiful Puerto Rico for the longest amount of time since I was a baby!!! Lol.”
Mari thanked Kenny and her parents for all of their love and support
She then wrote about how proud she is of her heritage and how much her family and friends all mean to her. Mari wanted to especially thank her fiancé, Kenny, as she declared it was him who convinced her to do the pageant and then supported, encouraged, and motivated her throughout the entire process.
Mari thanked her mom for coming from Germany to be there for her and her dad for supporting her over the past five months during her journey to compete.
She ended her heartfelt message by saying, “I’m incredibly happy for our new Miss Mundo PR, Elena, and wish you the most amazing year! The judges made the right choice.”
Although Mari didn’t end up winning the crown, her sportsmanship toward the winner of Miss Puerto Rico and what she learned from the entire process will be something she’ll take with her for a lifetime.
Bachelor in Paradise premieres Tuesday, September 27, on ABC.