Miss Nepal has already made history as the first plus-sized model to have entered the Miss Universe contest. But can she go one step further by winning the contest?

Jane Dipika Garrett, a 22-year-old advocate for body positivity and mental health, has gained widespread popularity, after being the first plus-size contestant to participate in the international competition. 

She was a crowd favourite at the Miss Universe 2023 preliminary competition held on Wednesday in El Salvador. 

Garrett is also a nursing student and is an advocate for mental and hormonal health after her own personal struggle with depression as a result of her polycystic ovary syndrome. She now makes it her mission to educate others on hormonal disorders and how they can affect people’s mental health. 

Garrett triumphed over 20 other contestants for the title of Miss Universe Nepal, and her charm, and advocacy for hormonal health and body positivity made her stand out amongst the crowd. 

Following her win as Miss Nepal, Garrett was quoted saying: “As a woman who is curvy and who does not meet certain beauty standards, I'm here to represent women who are curvy, who struggle with weight gain, who struggle with hormonal issues.”

From her introduction in the preliminaries, Garrett gained popularity and support on social media, as thousands follow her journey through the pageant. 

She now is competing against 84 women from all over the world for the pageant world’s biggest crown during the 72nd annual Miss Universe pageant, which will take place on Saturday in El Salvador. 

The 72nd Miss Universe pageant also introduced two transgender participants (Miss Portugal Marina Machete and Miss Netherlands Rikkie Kolle) and two mothers (Miss Guatemala Michelle Cohn and Miss Colombia Camila Avella) for the first time.