Sheyniss Palacios has arrived in New York. The newly crowned Miss Universe is starting her new reign, a period of a year where she’ll prioritize various topics near to her heart in the name of the organization. In an Instagram Q&A, Palacios revealed some of the answers to the most pressing questions asked by her followers, including her reaction upon learning that she was this year’s Miss Universe.

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One of the first answers she addressed in her Q&A was the moment she was crowned as Miss Universe. “What were you thinking the moment they said Nicaragua?” asked a follower. “I’m not gonna lie to you,” she said in Spanish. “I was in shock, I couldn’t believe it. It took me around five days to understand that I was Miss Universe. And yeah, it feels beautiful to know that the dream of your inner child has come true.”

Other questions she responded on her Q&A include some of her plans for her reign, which place mental health first. “So that visiting the psychologist can be normalized and we can feel free to talk about how we feel without fear of being judged,” she said. Palacios also addressed nervousness and anxiety onstage. “I don’t deal with nervousness,” she said. “But I deal with episodes of anxiety. Thank you to the tools and techniques that my psychologist has given me. I can now manage my emotions!”

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Sheyniss Palacios crowned as Miss Universe 2023

On November 18, 2023, Sheyniss Palacios was crowned as Miss Universe, becoming the first representative of Nicaragua to win the crown. Palacios is 23 years old and has a degree in communications, often discussing the importance of mental health, kickstarting a project called “Entiende tu mente” (Understand your mind), which was based on her personal experiences with anxiety.