Miss Ukraine has been stripped of her title after she failed to disclose that she has a child and was previously married. Veronkia Didusenko, 23, took home the crown in Kiev last Thursday but was later disqualified when organisers discovered she had lied about her personal life on her application form.
The beauty queen has a four-year-old son with her ex-husband but competition rules ban mothers or women who have been married from entry.
In a statement released yesterday Miss Ukraine officials explained Miss Didusenko had broken the rules and was no longer eligible to hold the title.
It means she will be replaced by another contestant at the Miss Universe 2018 competition in China in December.
Miss Great Britain previously had similar rules banning mothers and married women but abolished these in 2013 as part of a move to make the pageant more relevant.
Miss Didusenko, who has 11,500 Instagram followers, posted a message on the site thanking fans for their support at such a ‘difficult time’.
She wrote: ‘Friends, I have never been a blogger, but we already have more than 10,000. Thank you for your sincere support at such a difficult time for me! You are FANTASTIC.’
However she has faced harsh criticism from some followers who accused her of being ‘dumb’ for failing to understand the rules.