Former Miss USA Noelia Voigt Didn't Know Miss Teen USA Was Also Resigning, Calls Her a 'Strong Young Woman’ (Exclusive)

Former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt did not know that Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava was also resigning.

While I was talking to PEOPLE at the opening PEOPLE: We are celebrating 50 years show on Thursday, May 9, Voigt, 24, revealed that Srivastava’s resignation was “surprising.”

“I actually didn’t know he was going to do that. It was surprising,” she says, noting that the two are “very, very, close.”

“We were at an event together last night and we’re both incredibly optimistic about the future and what it holds for us individually and together,” adds Voigt.

Former Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava and former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt.

Craig Barritt/Getty

UmaSofia Srivastava Says Giving Up Miss Teen USA ‘Wasn’t My First Choice’ (Exclusive)

Srivastava, 17, announced her decision in an Instagram post on Wednesday, May 8 — two days after Voigt made the announcement.

The New Jersey teenager attributed her choice to the result that her “personal values” no longer fully aligned with the “direction of the organization.”

After declaring that she had “wrestled with this decision for months,” she said she will “always look back fondly on my time as Miss NJ Teen USA and the experience of representing my state as a first-generation, Mexican-American at the national pageant. level was fulfilling in itself.”

UmaSofia Srivastava at the Miss Teen USA 2023 pageant.

Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

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Voigt tells PEOPLE that Srivastava is “a very, very strong young woman.”

“A lot of people haven’t gotten to see that side of her yet, but she wants to be a diplomat. She wants to work for the Department of Defense,” Voigt says. “She’s truly an amazing human being and I couldn’t be more proud of her for showing her generation — teenagers, Gen Z — that it’s also okay to step away from things that aren’t good for you.”

She tells PEOPLE she’s looking forward to the future and is “really thrilled and grateful” for the support she’s received since resigning.

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“There [are] so many things I’d like to explore,” she says. “My background is in interior design. I think the show would be a lot of fun, exploring communications on television. I just feel like the possibilities are endless and right now I’m at a point where I’m really exploring all that stuff, so we’ll see.”

When Voigt announced her decision to step down from the Miss USA 2023 title, she cited her mental health.

“In life, I really appreciate the importance of making decisions that are best for you and your mental health,” she wrote in a statement released on May 6. “My journey as Miss USA has been incredibly meaningful, representing Utah with pride and later the USA at Miss Universe. Unfortunately, I have made the difficult decision to relinquish the title of Miss USA 2023.”

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Source: HIS Education