Miss Universe shuts down online conspiracy theorists who claim winner Miss Mexico is a cheat

Pageant denies claims winner Miss Mexico is married which would make her ineligible for crown

Andrea Maza, the newly crowned Miss Universe had caused widespread confusion about whether she is married (AP)

The Miss Universe Pageant has debunked a theory about the newly crowned pageant winner, after online sleuths suggested she was married and called for her to resign.

Fans who wanted to know more about winner Andrea Meza, and her life and work as Miss Mexico, came across a photo on her Instagram page showing the pageant competitor in a white wedding gown with a man in a tuxedo, with the caption “3/09/19”, implying the date of an anniversary.

The rules of the pageant stipulate that contestants must be unmarried.

People tagged the Miss Universe account in their comments, and other people expressed their confusion by posting the shocked face emoticon. However, a spokesperson from the Miss Universe franchise told The Independent: “She is not married. It was a photoshoot for the tourism bureau.”

Ms Meza, 26, is from Chihuahua City, where she is an official representative for the local tourism board, holds a degree in software engineering and is an outspoken activist for women’s rights, according to the Miss Universe website.

Ms Meza confirmed that she was unmarried in comments to Insider.

“Back then, I was not in any pageant. I just posted the picture making fun of the situation,” she added. “We thought it was funny to prank our friends by only writing the date on the caption,” she told the publication.

However, the other person in the photo, a model named Jorge Saenz, claimed it was a total misunderstanding and said the pair were on a modelling assignment, and they posted the snap as a “joke”, DNA reported.

The Ah Chihuahua tourism official Instagram page shared a post corroborating the pair’s story, saying they were not married, but just colleagues on a shoot.