Minutes before the middle child of five was crowned, she was asked whether she had she had ever done something she regretted.
“I'd like to start off by saying that every experience no matter what it is, good or bad, you'll learn from it. That's just life,” she said.
“But something I've done I've regretted is probably picking on my siblings growing up, because you appreciate them so much more as you grow older.”
Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.
All the contestants spent the past two weeks in Sin City, where they posed in hardhats at a hotel groundbreaking, took a painting lesson, and pranked hotel guests by hiding in their rooms.
Culpo was the first Miss U.S.A. winner from Rhode Island when she took the national crown in Las Vegas in June.
She grew up in Cranston with two professional musicians for parents and has played the cello alongside world-renowned classical musician Yo-Yo Ma.
