Caelynn Marie Bell ( Miller-Keyes; born June 15, 1995) is an American television personality, model and beauty pageant titleholder. Miller-Keyes received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on season 23 of '' The Bachelor''. While competing in ''The Bachelor'', Miller-Keyes received widespread attention and praise regarding her decision to detail the circumstances of a sexual assault she was the victim of while a college student. Her story was reported on by media outlets such as ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', ''

Inquisitr Inquisitr is a news website started in 2007 for the purpose of covering news and entertainment stories. It is owned and operated by Inquisitr Ltd. History The web domain for Inquisitr was registered in Iceland on August 6, 2007. It was founded b ...

'', ''

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skir ...

'', and ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Sundial Media Group. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Ref ...

''.

Early life and education

Miller-Keyes was born in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

to parents Jerry Keyes and Jai-leah Miller; she was raised by her mother and stepfather John Kamenicky. Her mother and maternal grandmother are Native Americans, both enrolled with the

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBOI, ) is a Native American recognition in the United States, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American List of Native American Tribal Entities, tribe of Odawa ...

. Her paternal grandmother was the first woman to become head of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. As a child, she was diagnosed with

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the Human brain, brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, aphasia, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include se ...

and was told by doctors she only had a 10% chance of ever walking again; she ultimately ended up fully recovering. Miller-Keyes attended

Stafford Senior High School Stafford Senior High School (colloquially known as Stafford High School and often called South Stafford High School) is a public high school in Stafford, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1926 and is part of the Stafford County Pu ...

and

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

, where she majored in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

. Prior to winning

Miss North Carolina USA The Miss North Carolina USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state North Carolina in the Miss USA pageant. This state is part of the RPM Productions group since 1992. In 2005, Miss North Carolina USA Chelse ...

, Miller-Keyes moved from Virginia to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

and began working as a social media consultant.

Career

Pageantry

Miller-Keyes's pageantry career began at the age of 16, after competing in Miss Virginia Teen USA 2013. She then went on to win the state title on her first attempt, and represented Virginia at

Miss Teen USA 2013 Miss Teen USA 2013 was the 31st Miss Teen USA pageant, held on August 10, 2013 at Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas and was hosted by Australian journalist Karl Jeno Schmid and Miss Teen USA 2003 Tami Farrell. Logan West of Connecticu ...

Atlantis Paradise Island Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed casino resort located on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The resort spans and includes a waterpark, marine habitat, and other recreational facilities. It is built around the Aquaventure waterscape a ...

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

. Miller-Keyes ultimately did not place in the pageant and the pageant was won by

Cassidy Wolf Cassidy Marie Wolf (born July 5, 1994) is an American TV host, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2013. Pageants While attending Great Oak High School in Temecula, she was crowned Miss Greater San Diego Teen USA. Wolf was cr ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Miller-Keyes later crowned Olivia Fletcher as her successor at the end of her reign. After moving to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Miller-Keyes competed in Miss North Carolina USA 2018, representing

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

, where she ended up winning the title and being crowned by outgoing titleholder Katie Coble. As Miss North Carolina USA, Miller-Keyes was given the right to represent North Carolina at the

Miss USA 2018 Miss USA 2018 was the 67th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. The pageant was held at the same venue that was used for Miss USA 1997. Kára McCullough of Washington, D.C., Dis ...

competition, held in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. While at Miss USA, Miller-Keyes advocated for her platform of sexual assault awareness. She went on to place as the first runner-up in the competition, behind eventual winner Sarah Rose Summers of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. After finishing her reign, Miller-Keyes was unable to crown her successor due to filming commitments for '' The Bachelor''. Her successor,

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst ( ; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was also an attorney and a correspondent for the TV show ''Extra'' from October 2019 until her ...

, was instead crowned by Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2018 Kaaviya Sambasivam.

Reality television

In 2018, Miller-Keyes was cast in season 23 of '' The Bachelor'', starring former professional football player

Colton Underwood Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (né Underwood; born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional American football, football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State Redbirds football, Illinois St ...

. Filming for the season took place throughout fall 2018, and Miller-Keyes was later revealed by the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) as a contestant on December 6, 2018.

Hannah Brown Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994) is an American television personality, model, author and beauty pageant titleholder. Brown first gained recognition after placing in the top seven in season 23 of '' The Bachelor'' (2019). She subs ...

, another contestant, was crowned Miss Alabama USA 2018 and was Miller-Keyes's roommate at Miss USA. In the January 28, 2019, episode of the season, Miller-Keyes revealed to Underwood the details of a sexual assault that she was a victim of during her

sophomore year In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

of college, and how the experience led to her having difficulty opening up and trusting men for a period of time. Miller-Keyes received widespread attention and praise from the media after the episode aired, with outlets identifying the airing of their conversation as support for the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...

. Miller-Keyes placed fourth in the season, being eliminated by Underwood during the hometown dates portion of the show in the episode aired on February 25, 2019. She began appearing on season six of '' Bachelor in Paradise'' in August 2019, before choosing to leave the show along with boyfriend Dean Unglert in the episode aired September 9, 2019.

Personal life

, Miller-Keyes revealed that she was a survivor of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

and adopted sexual assault awareness as her primary platform of advocacy during the

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

competition. During season 23 of '' The Bachelor'', Miller-Keyes went into detail regarding her assault, revealing that it occurred during her sophomore year of college when she and some friends were drugged and raped by a group of boys they were friends with. Miller-Keyes also had indecent pictures of her taken while she was incapacitated. After learning of her assault, Miller-Keyes reached out to hospitals for a

rape kit A rape kit or rape test kit is a package of items used by medical, police or other personnel for gathering and preserving physical evidence following an instance or allegation of sexual assault. The evidence collected from the victim can aid the ...

, and was turned away by the first hospital, while the second hospital's investigation came back inconclusive due to the time that had passed since the assault. Of her assaulters, one was expelled from school while the others were left unpunished. Miller-Keyes began a relationship with Dean Unglert during season six of '' Bachelor in Paradise''. In January 2021, they purchased a house together in

Summerlin, Nevada Summerlin is a master-planned mixed-use development mostly within the city limits of Las Vegas, Nevada. The development covers of the western edge of incorporated Las Vegas sitting at the center-west end of the Las Vegas Valley. Downtown Summ ...

, where they permanently relocated that April. They got engaged in October 2022, and married on September 23, 2023, at a private mountain retreat in Meredith, Colorado. Upon marriage, they both changed their surnames to Bell in honor of his late mother.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller-Keyes, Caelynn 1995 births American beauty pageant winners American women television personalities Bachelor Nation contestants Female models from North Carolina Female models from Virginia Living people Miss North Carolina USA winners 2013 beauty pageant contestants 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss USA 2018 delegates Native American female models Odawa people People from Asheville, North Carolina People from Fredericksburg, Virginia Television personalities from North Carolina Television personalities from Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University alumni 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American people Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians