Madison Novo Wins 2022 Miss Hooters International Pageant: 'Dreams Have Become A Total Reality'

2022 Miss Hooters International pageant winner Madison Novo called her victory in last week's competition "more than just a win" for herself. Crediting her older sister, a previous Hooters pageant competitor, as a trailblazer, Madison said in an Instagram post that seeing her sister compete made her want to compete as well.

"Seeing this at such a young age, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of something bigger than just me," Novo wrote. "Watching my sister compete in multiple Hooters Swimsuit competitions as a little girl & then being able to watch her represent Miami in 2017 & 2018, I knew I had some super big shoes to fill. I just cannot believe that my dreams have become a total reality.

Besides winning the exclusive Miss Hooters 2022 title, Novo, who has spent two years with the company, also took home $30,000 in cash and begins a year-long reign that will have her working on marketing initiatives, at store openings and popping up at NASCAR events to cheer on Chase Elliott, who drives the No. 9 Hooters car.

"This is more than just a win for myself. This is for my sister. For my brother. For my mom. For baby Madi. For my family. For my friends. & for every single person that has ever supported me in this competition and so much more."

The relationship between Hooters and Novo goes even deeper than her sister being a contestant.

“When I was 12 years old in the hospital with a rare kidney failure, I was visited by Hooters Girls who lifted my spirits," Miss Hooters 2022 said. "In my upcoming role, I’m determined to help children around the world feel they aren’t alone during their battles.” 

What a story!

To all the losers out there who think the Hooters Girls are just about slinging wings, singing Happy Birthday to men before they watch blood fly during UFC PPVs and keeping the draft tallboys flowing, you need to realize these ladies are much more than just waitresses and bartenders.

And we can all agree that it's nice to see an actual pageant like the world had been holding until like two years ago when maniacs got their hands on pageant structure and determined you're no longer allowed to have a bikini portion of the contest.

Nonsense.

Madison proved you can go out there and win with beauty, brains and an incredible story that left the judges no choice but to crown her.

"I have never felt more excited, confident, blessed, and overall content with my life than right now," Novo wrote on Instagram before going out on competition day.

And then she won it all.

Absolute chills.

Written by
Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.