R'Bonney Gabriel said it's the 'sweetest victory' to win Miss Universe after the Miss USA rigging allegations

• Miss Universe R'Bonney Gabriel said her win was the "sweetest victory" following rigging allegations.
• After Gabriel won Miss USA in October, contestants said the pageant was rigged in her favor.

Just hours after R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned Miss USA in October, contestants said the competition had been rigged in her favor.

Fast-forward three months and Gabriel is back in the headlines again after winning the 71st Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 14. She is the first American to be crowned Miss Universe in a decade.

Gabriel sat down with Insider this week to discuss her journey, and how it felt to win Miss Universe after her Miss USA reign was overshadowed by controversy.

"Let me tell you, it is the sweetest victory. I'm so happy, I almost started crying on stage," she told Insider. "I hope it just proves to everyone, not as revenge, but just shows people that I deserve this."

"This is a strong message that I want to share with the world," Gabriel added. "No matter if people try to knock you down, or there are misconceptions about you, you can't let that get to you. Just keep going and you'll get what you deserve — so I'm so happy to be Miss Universe."

More than a dozen Miss USA contestants said the 2022 pageant was either rigged or heavily favored Gabriel, who won the title on October 3 while representing Texas.

The Miss Universe Organization launched a third-party investigation and Crystle Stewart, who was president of Miss USA at the time, was suspended indefinitely. A spokesperson for the organization told Insider that the investigation found the Miss USA judges' scores were accurately recorded and no winner was pre-selected.

Gabriel told Insider that the rigging allegations really "threw me for a loop" and were a "huge distraction" while trying to prepare for Miss Universe.

"I was definitely not expecting it, and there were days I felt low," she said. "I felt very delayed in my process a lot of the time, but I had Miss Universe always on my mind."

"It was really my support system — my family and my friends and my coaches — that have always believed in me since day one. They would pick me back up and help me get out of bed when I didn't feel like it," she said. "They would push me to keep going."

While her Miss USA reign was full of difficult moments, Gabriel said she believes it made her "become even stronger."

"As Miss Universe, I'm in the public eye even more and negative comments are going to come every single day," she said. "But I feel like I can handle them. I've really been able to reflect on who I am and stand strong and believe I deserve this."