Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl sparked a social media frenzy over her figure that isn't stick-thin. INSIDE EDITION talks to the beauty queen who's happy to just be herself.
The breakout star of the Miss USA pageant is hitting back at critics today.
Miss Indiana stole the show with her curvy figure, being praised for being "real" and "normal."
Mekayla Diehl told INSIDE EDITION, "It's kind of been a whirlwind, a blessing in disguise. I didn't make the top ten, I didn't get walk away with a new crown, but I am having a new adventure in my life."
Social media exploded when she came strutting out in a bikini looking amazing and much curvier than the usual super-skinny pageant contestant.
Hear More From Miss Indiana About Her "Normal" Figure.
"Finally, a contestant that's not a bag of bones," said one tweet.
"Thank you for looking like an average woman," said another.
But today, many people are pointing out that there's very little average about 25-year-old Mekayla Diehl.
Diehl is 5-foot-8-inches tall and wears a size four. The average American woman is 5-foot-three-inches and squeezes into a size 14. She's 135 pounds. The average American woman is 166 pounds.
Diehl said, "What is average? Average is just a perception, is it not?"
Diehl says she didn't go to anything out of the ordinary to tone her figure. But, she says the extraordinary reaction to her figure at the Miss USA pageant has inspired a new cause for her to pursue.
"You have to own who you are, and that's what we need to be teaching our girls. To be yourself and to be the healthiest version of yourself," said Diehl.
