I have always had a personal liking for Aussie beauty queens with their cool beach-loving vibe, eye-candy looks and ease with whatever kind of swimsuit they wear. It’s like a peg or formula they have somehow mastered through the years. And the names of most! I just love it when the winner answers to a common one spelled differently – like Jesinta instead of Jacinta, Tegan instead of Megan, Voni instead of Bonnie, Renae instead of Renee and Caris instead of Carrie!

Last 2004, Jennifer Hawkins may have arrived in Quito, Ecuador with no clear sense yet that she will eventually zoom past all comers and become the best of the best that year. The presence alone of the combo of Miss USA Shandi Finnessey, Miss Paraguay Yanina González and Miss Norway Kathrine Sørland was enough to get any of the candidates intimidated. It was clearly her year, though, and the path to the crown was made more easy when then pageant owner Donald Trump took a shine on her, while developing a cool friendship with Shandi who eventually became her reign-long roommate in New York after winning the crown of Miss Universe 2004.

So it was the closer than close attention Jennifer received from Trump that got her involved in a scandal of sorts with the man who is now US President. There was a time when the latter described her as “the most beautiful Miss Universe I have seen in many, many years”.

But in this article on Grazia by Erin Van Den Meer, it detailed how the professional relationship went downhill and mentioned that:

”… But the model and entrepreneur found herself backed into a corner on Saturday when footage of Trump degrading her on stage at a conference in Sydney back in 2011 resurfaced and was published by every major news website in Australia and America – all while she was on duty for Myer at Derby Day in Melbourne.

In the video, Trump calls Hawkins up on stage to deliberately humiliate her after she initially refused to introduce him at the event (she claims there was a miscommunication with her management). He not only denigrates her in front of the stadium of thousands but even makes an uncomfortable sexual comment about her…”

From being apple of the eye, Jennifer was gradually sidelined to near anonymity so to speak. Which was a blessing in disguise for the beauty queen who found his actions a little too close for comfort before everything happened. In an exclusive interview on 60 Minutes Australia last year, she finally opened up about everything that happened between her and Donald Trump. Watch now.

Dear readers, care to share your thoughts about Jennifer, her reign and the role of Trump in her sudden rise to popularity that went south in trickles?

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