An anonymous tip-off has cost a beauty queen her title and sparked accusations of “body shaming” and discrimination.
The furor began shortly after Natalie Paweleck, 35, was named Mrs. Scotland World in September.
Just hours after Paweleck received her crown, pageant organizers were sent an email revealing she had posed topless for men’s magazines such as the now-defunct FHM in her younger years.
The email demanded the mom of one, a former model who is now a television host for soccer team Manchester City FC, be stripped of her title.
In 2005, Paweleck, who then modeled using her maiden name, Pike, won FHM’s “High Street Honeys” competition, and the following year, she released the pop single “I Touch Myself” along with other finalists.
In 2007, she also posed for men’s magazines Zoo and Nuts.
Paweleck claimed she did not know she needed to disclose her former career before entering the Mrs. Scotland World competition.
Paweleck has now hit back at the decision to disqualify her, telling the Mail on Sunday she was the victim of “body shaming.”
“To me this pageant should be about showing women can be whatever they want, regardless of the labels that are given to us,” she told the publication.
“My modeling past is not something I have ever hidden. I am proud of what I achieved.
“I was on the cover of the world’s highest-selling men’s magazine and won the UK’s most popular modeling competition.
“The choices I made in my early 20s have made me the woman I am today, and I like that woman.
While she stood by the pageant, she said some rules needed updating.
“These archaic rules need to be re-evaluated,” she said.
”I still believe pageants can be hugely empowering for women, but you either empower all women or ultimately you empower none of us.”
The Mrs. Scotland World competition was founded in 1984 as a “platform for inspirational married women to make themselves heard and reach out to others.”
Mrs. World UK spokesman Jamie Love told the Mail that Paweleck had not lost her crown over the photos, but rather the fact they weren’t revealed from the beginning.
“It was not because she posed topless that she was de-crowned — it was because it was not disclosed,” he said.
The title has now gone to runner-up Alana Stott, who is married to a former soldier and friend of Prince Harry, Dean Stott.
She will now take Paweleck’s place at the finals in China in March.
Paweleck lives in Chester, Scotland, with her husband, Jamie, and their 1-year-old son, Reggie Louie Christopher Paweleck.
She is also the director of a homelessness nonprofit, The Wellspring.
In a gushing Instagram post in late July before the scandal unfolded, Paweleck described her love for the Mrs. World competition.
“I love what Mrs. World represents and promotes. A celebration of love for your husband and family, a celebration of charity work, of confidence, intelligence and of the empowerment of all women,” she wrote.
“The idea that a strong woman can change the world and of course that you can be beautiful no matter your age. I love that 40 percent of the judging is based on a joint interview that you and your husband do with the judges.”
“I love that the current Mrs. World is on the UN women’s committee! I am so excited to take part In the final on 9th September. Here’s to following your dreams!”