The Bachelor's Alayah Benavidez found herself at the center of drama with other women on
Peter Weber's season and was eventually sent packing.
But there's a lot that viewers didn't get to learn about her.
This is the untold truth of the beauty pageant queen.
Fans of Peter Weber's Bachelor season will likely not soon forget the drama that transpired
between Alayah Benavidez and her fellow contestant Sydney Hightower.
During the third episode of Weber's Bachelor season, viewers watched as Hightower, visibly
unimpressed with Benavidez for what she perceived as disingenuousness behavior, confronted the
Texas native by questioning her pageantry background, prompting Weber to question whether
or not Benavidez was there for the right reasons.
However, while Benavidez might be a pageant winner now, the Bachelor contestant hasn't
always been competing for a title.
In fact, as Benavidez revealed in an interview with San Antonio Express-News, she didn't
begin her pageant journey until high school.
She told the publication,
"It wasn't until I was actually a senior and I decided to compete [in] a small county fair-type
pageant, but it had a scholarship opportunity.
I thought that would be a good opportunity just to get out of my comfort zone."
And in a 2016 interview with Lady Code, Benavidez revealed that she loves the outdoors just
as much as the pageant stage.
"If it's outdoors I am down to do it.
I'm actually kind of a tomboy in my free time.
A tomboy with fierce lashes!"
As past Bachelor franchise contestants have revealed, it's required that you remain as
detached from the outside world as possible while filming the show.
This means no cell phones are allowed, no phone calls back home, and no television.
Surprisingly, reading is reportedly also on the list of banned pastimes.
In 2017, former contestant AshLee Frazier told the Verge,
"No phone and no books.
They were all taken.
The only book[s] allowed are Bibles."
If the "no books" rule still applies, Benavidez likely found herself a bit bored during downtime
while filming the reality TV show.
After all, the beauty queen has admitted to being a huge bookworm.
In a 2016 interview with Lady Code, Benavidez revealed,
"I am so thankful that at an early age I discovered a love for reading.
Little did I know that all those hours of escape were building a foundation for the
years ahead."
One look at Benavidez's Twitter profile, and you'll find the Bachelor contestant sums herself
up nicely with a short, sweet, and to-the-point description.
It reads,
"Addicted to traveling, iced lattes and love.
I post a lot of dog tweets."
There's no question Benavidez is a dog lover however, her favorite dog is undoubtedly her
very own dog, a doberman named Titan.
In March 2019, Benavidez posted a cute Instagram pic of herself and her pup, captioning it
with a heart emoji and the words,
"Sundays are for runs in the park with Titan."
During the onstage interview portion of the 2019 Miss Texas USA pageant, Benavidez was
asked, quote, "Aside from necessities, what is one thing you could not go without for
one day?"
Benavidez quickly responded, "My dog!"
Explaining how difficult it is to go without seeing her 110 pound doberman, the beauty
queen revealed,
"Actually, when I'm out of town, I usually try to FaceTime him."
She might be a beauty pageant queen, but life hasn't been all sunshine and roses for Benavidez.
In a June 2019 interview with AlamoCityMoms.com, the Bachelor contestant opened up about the
struggles she faced as a kid, which continue to impact her life today.
She told the website,
"I faced a lot of isolation and feeling that I wasn't worthy when I was younger.
I'm dyslexic and I didn't understand that when I was in [my early years of] school.
I wasn't diagnosed until high school."
According to Benavidez, as much as she's always loved to read, her dyslexia made English class
difficult and confusing for her.
Her experience with dyslexia is what inspired her to start her "Read the Way" campaign.
She told the site,
"[Read the Way] is a way to communicate with my community that reading is important.
If a child is not reading on grade level by the third grade, their chance of ever graduating
from high school decreases sharply.
Literacy matters, and it affects children's outcomes."
"My main focus as Miss Texas USA is to lower the illiteracy rate in our country as much
as I can as an individual."
Sydney Hightower also prodded Benavidez about her employment history during her season of
the Bachelor, asking her, quote, "Do you, like, work at all?"
To which Benavidez replied, "I have three jobs."
And while Hightower certainly seemed skeptical about the pageant queen's reply, all signs
point to Benavidez being a hardworking gal.
According to the official ABC bio for Benavidez, the Texas native is an orthodontist's assistant.
However, as evidenced by her Instagram, the Bachelor contestant is also a co-owner of
Three Bees Boutique, which she owns and operates with her mother, Cynthia, and sister, Isabella.
While the specifics of her third job are unclear at this time, Benavidez could be referring
to her work as a model.
While Sydney Hightower was the first to raise concerns about Benavidez to Bachelor Peter
Weber, Victoria Paul also revealed her skepticism about the former Miss Texas USA.
According to Paul, who was crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2019, she and Benavidez knew each other
from the pageantry world but Benavidez asked Paul to not reveal as much to Bachelor producers.
Still, Paul told Weber she and Benavidez weren't exactly friends, as they had spent only about
three hours together before Bachelor filming commenced.
Weber ultimately eliminated Benavidez at the end of the third episode, but the pageant
queen made a triumphant return in the season's fourth episode, explaining to Weber that she
and Paul had hung out for much longer than three hours.
In fact, the two once took a trip to Las Vegas together.
Steve Carbone of Reality Steve fame posted multiple pictures from said Vegas trip to
his Twitter, writing,
"Plenty of photographic evidence out there of this Vegas trip from January 2019 that
Alayah & Victoria P. were on together."
It certainly seems like these two have quite the history!
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