The newly crowned Miss Northern Ireland 2023 has said she is 'over the moon' after her win.
26-year-old social media executive Kaitlyn Clarke was awarded at the Europa Hotel on Monday night, May 23, as 28 finalists competed for the title.
The Antrim woman, who was previously a primary school teacher for five years, takes over the reigns from 2022 Miss Northern Ireland Daria Gapska.
Read more: Antrim woman crowned Miss Northern Ireland 2023
Kaitlyn sang Don't Rain on My Parade - Barbra Streisand at the Gala Final, as winners of the previous talent show competition had the opportunity to perform.
Speaking to Belfast Live on Tuesday morning, Kaitlyn, who is originally from Belfast, was delighted.
She said: "Totally over the moon but mostly shocked. Somebody said to me last night, 'I'm sure you are on cloud nine' and I said, 'No, I think there is a separate dedicated cloud for Miss NI feelings, not just cloud nine'.
"Overwhelming in a good way. There's a lot of opportunity lying ahead and a lot of good to come out of this.
"For me, I have followed the competition since I was nine-years-old when Lucy Evangelista McCullough won. That for me was kind of the beginning of looking out for it every year.
"I think it was always something that I said I was definitely going to do at some point, but just in terms of confidence I don't think it was really in the right place for me personally until this year, and coincidentally this is the last year that I actually would have been able to enter due to my age.
"I just thought, it's the last chance, it's something I've always wanted to do. I'm obviously very, very glad I did [go for it]."
Kaitlyn also won the Multimedia and Barefaced Beauty awards at the Miss NI Gala Final.
She said: "When they were calling out the final 16, I got the Multimedia Award, which I was absolutely delighted about... But I also won the Bare Faced Beauty Award, it's a lovely award about self-confidence, [being] comfortable in your own skin, but my face when I won that... [it] was so unexpected.
"So then to get into the top five was the icing on the cake and I think for me, I just thought, 'I've made it to the top five, I should be so proud, I'm going to be able to go home and say, Guess what? I was in the top five', I didn't think I'd be able to go home and say, 'Guess what? I won'.
"It's just unexpected, the best feeling. It doesn't register for a good while."
Kaitlyn added that the competition was not about winning for her.
She added: "That's not what I was expecting.
"The competition itself, what it was all about for me... for me it was more gaining an experience and just seeing what thing could I pick and choose to take from the competition from start to finish to carry on afterwards in my personal life or in my job, transferable skills really from being part of it.
"But low and behold we're here and we've actually gone and done it."
The 26-year-old, who has an undergraduate degree in drama and loves to 'perform, sing and and act', says one of the best parts of her experience was the friends she met during the process.
"I think my only kind of set back of actually doing the competition was, I was just nervous to go into a such a large group of girls, I just was a little bit anxious about being maybe a little bit older, how do you make friends? And things like that. I am so delighted to say the whole competition proved me wrong, in terms of, I had nothing to be worried about, I had no problems at all the whole time.
"The girls were so supportive. Everybody. It's just a big group of girls' girls. You have a down moment, they're picking you up, ten minutes later, they have a down moment, you're picking them up.
"The good attitude from everybody was amazing and everybody was just so ferociously kind and polite.
"Just incredible all round. That's been the best thing from it for me, is the people I've met," Kaitlyn explained.
She added how Monday night "was really surreal from start to finish".
Miss Northern Ireland said: "The team always do go big or go home, but it was just another level, we had so many additional acts to the ladies performing...
"It was just amazing... Backstage was manic, but a very fun place to be."
Kaitlyn added: "At the end of the night, I was so lucky to get to stay in the Clinton Suite in the Europa last night, I got up there, I got to chill out... I sat on the bed with my Hasting Hotel robe on, my crown on my head, eating a packet of Tayto cheese and onion.
"Couldn't be more Northern Irish if I tried.
"That's when it hit me. I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time and I actually said out loud, 'I'm Miss Northern Ireland'. It's amazing."
The Antrim woman is excited to represent Northern Ireland on the world stage as she is now set to take part in the 72nd Miss World pageant.
Kaitlyn said: "I can't wait. Going into that, it will be very much the same mindset that I went into the Miss Northern Ireland competition with. It's an experience, I am going to take it day by day.
"I am actually most looking forward to the other girls that I will meet.
"It's one thing meeting that group of girls in your own country, and you all have that common thing, but to go and gain cultural experiences and just meet women, really strong positive women from all over the world, that'll be incredible."
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