I watched Bill Belichick’s girlfriend compete in a beauty pageant so you don’t have to

PORTLAND — I can’t believe I actually went to this.

It started with my boss’ boss floating a crazy idea of going to the pageant that Bill Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, was competing in.

It continued with my initially perplexed boss sending me off with a message of, “Well, have fun.”

It finished with me spending hours of my weekend staring at the back of Belichick’s head as news outlets across the country were set to pounce on the outcome of a beauty pageant in Maine.

I went to the Miss Maine pageant so you don’t have to

I’ve spent more time writing about Belichick, Hudson and the drama surrounding their relationship than I ever thought possible.

It wasn’t up to me. I keep writing it because people keep reading it – way more than I ever expected.

So when it became clear that the 24-year-old would be competing in the 2025 Miss Maine USA competition, it made sense to follow the story. People are clearly fascinated by the whole Belichick-Hudson story.

Hudson, who was representing her hometown of Hancock, was looking to get the tiara after finishing as runner-up in 2024.

The 2025 Miss Maine USA Pageant

The city of Portland is a delightful spot for a weekend getaway. There are a ton of awesome breweries and restaurants. The cobblestone streets leading to the water highlight a whimsical blend of maritime history and trendy new businesses.

The 2025 Miss Maine USA pageant featured none of those things.

The pageant that suddenly had the attention of football fans and gossip-followers nationwide was held at the Holiday Inn Portland-By The Bay.

Holiday Inn is really stretching the definition of the word “By.” The hotel, located a 10-minute walk from Portland Harbor, is a surprisingly labyrinthine bastion of off-beige concrete located at the intersection of “some houses” and “nothing much.”

Although it is across from the Charles Q. Clapp House, a building that dates back to 1832 … and you’ve already stopped reading this paragraph.

Day 1: Saturday, 7 p.m., Preliminaries

The last time I saw this many sparkly dresses at a sensible mid-level hotel, I was at prom. Just like back then, I had no idea where to sit or stand when I rolled up to the “State of Maine Grand Ballroom” where the pageant would be held.

I’ll admit that I was lucky enough to score a media credential, sparing me from spending $95 for a general admission ticket or a whopping $140 for a premium seat.

Well, the joke was on me as the media was crammed into the back few rows of chairs. In the event’s defense, that’s exactly where I would put us as well.

A sleek stage and runway faced a crowd of about 100 for Saturday’s preliminaries. Faces in the crowd ranged from schlubs like me in jeans and a work-appropriate pullover to those who went all-out with sparkling dresses.

It was at this point that I was feeling severely underdressed and wishing I were at least 40% more sparkly. This is an emotion I’m going to have to sort out on my own time.

Minutes before the pageant was set to begin, he appeared. Belichick had emerged from some secret portal formed by runes etched into the carpet (or, more likely, a side door) and taken a front-row seat all the way to the right of the stage.

To his credit, he was not wearing the ragged Navy sweatshirt with a hole that wore on CBS Sunday Mornings. He looked to be wearing a nice shirt, tie and suit jacket.

I’m ashamed to admit that I did not storm to the front of the room and demand to know what designer made his outfit. It was a little early in the evening to be forcibly dragged out of a Holiday Inn.

Moments later, as I discovered that there was a bowl of green Starlight mints up for grabs, it began.

The 17 contestants for Miss Maine USA took to the stage along with seven contestants for Miss Maine Teen USA and performed a choreographed dance routine.

The routine was set to a song that Shazam on my phone identified as “Woman Up” by Megan Trainor. As you can see, I’ve spared no expense or effort in unraveling the enigma that is this pageant.

After the intros, the preliminary pageant began. Fortunately, the hosts explained how everything worked, because I certainly had no idea what was going on.

Saturday would feature the contestants doing runway walks in two different outfits. The Miss Maine contestants competed in evening gown and swimsuit. The Miss Maine Teen contestants appeared in evening gown and athletic wear.

Hudson made her first runway appearance in the swimsuit portion, emerging in a revealing green two-piece right as “Pink Pony Club” by Chappel Roan began to play. Belichick could be seen nodding slightly to the beat of the song as Hudson made her way up, down and around the stage.

She looked confident and did some cool twirls. I have no idea whether this was a good thing or not.

Next up was the evening gown event. This time, Hudson came out with a sparkling floor-length purple gown with a long slit up the leg.

The hosts later explained that the judges were not evaluating the gown. They were looking at the “poise, stage presence, confidence and overall impression” that each contestant made.

Got it. Well, by my count, I could confirm that Hudson did more spins and hair flips than anyone else. So that’s either a good thing or bad thing. Or maybe it doesn’t matter at all.

It was when the contestants were called out for one last walk that we finally caught a glimpse of interaction between Hudson and Belichick. As she left the stage, Hudson fired a wink to where Belichick was sitting. The coach responded with a slow, knowing nod.

That was basically all I saw from Belichick as he watched the event. The North Carolina coach seemed locked in, but kept a low profile the whole time. I was hoping he’d stand up and wave a big “Go Jordan!” sign every time she came out.

Saturday’s prelims concluded with no results and Belichick quickly being led out a side door.

The hosts announced that the contestants were coming back out to spend a moment with family and friends. I have no idea what happened there. That’s because reporters were told to “please exit the ballroom” as the event ended to give the contestants privacy.

What we do know is that the hosts said the contestants would be having a “pajama and pizza party” after the preliminaries.

Day 2: Sunday, 1 p.m., finals

It was more of the same as we returned to the hallowed halls of the Holiday Inn Portland-By The Bay.

Rows of family, friends and spectators lined the rows of seats. Reporters were banished to the back rows where they belonged. Belichick slipped in minutes before the event started to grab his front-row seat once again. The contestants came out with the same song-and-dance to Meghan Trainor.

It looked like things would escalate quickly as the field of 17 contestants was narrowed down to 10 semifinalists.

Hudson made the cut as the pageant moved onto the next round. Apparently, this meant having the contestants do the same walks in the same outfits they wore on Saturday.

I don’t know what was different between Saturday and Sunday. But apparently it was a knock-out, drag-out competition that went down to the wire.

The judges were supposed to trim the field down to five finalists. But there was some sort of gridlock in the judging.

As a result, we got to witness hosts Jen Turner and Sal Malafronte try their best to vamp and buy time for the judges.

This featured the judges thanking sponsors and engaging in some Miss USA trivia. It also featured the judges trying to draw some laughs with some crowd work.

“You know who’s not having a good day? The clasp on these pants,” Malafronte said at one point

Finally, the judges had settled on their top five. It turned out that there were two separate ties in the scoring system, including a four-way tie.

I, for one, was surprised. Who knew there was a scoring system?

Next up was the highly anticipated interview portion, where contestants drew a random question to be asked by the host.

It was at this point that the absurdity of the situation really landed. I was watching one of the greatest coaches in NFL history sit and listen as a teen contestant was asked what the theme song to her life was.

She picked “Diva” by Beyoncé. I’m really curious if Belichick could name a single Beyoncé song.

Eventually, Hudson got her question: If you could re-live one moment in your life, what would it be and why?

Interesting. This was a bit of a curveball, a personal question that pries into who she is as a person. Could she deal with it?

Honestly, it didn’t matter too much. We were probably going to get a similar response no matter what was asked. She was always going to talk about the fishing industry.

“I would go back to the days when I was on my family’s fishing boat in Hancock, Maine,” Hudson said.

She explained that she thinks often about the “mass exodus of fishermen occurring in the rural areas of Maine.” It’s the primary issue that she’s been championing heading into the competition.

Honestly, good on her for adapting to the question and improvising a way to work in her cause, setting up a response that she’s likely practiced.

But was it enough? The suspense began to build as the final results were rattled off.

Fourth runner-up went to Lewiston’s Hannah Trottier-Braun.

Third runner-up went to Old Town’s Reykha Lindor.

Second runner-up went to … Hancock’s Jordon Hudson.

Woah. I did not expect that. After coming in second place last year, Hudson finished third. That kind of took the wind out of the sails of this whole sideshow.

Instead, the runner-up spot went to Cumberland County’s Mara Carpenter while Bangor’s Shelby Howell won the title of Miss Maine USA 2025.

It had all gone pear-shaped for Hudson. Were there too many twirls? Are you not supposed to do hair flips? Did she make some mistakes that I saw happen and completely missed?

I have no idea. I’m completely unqualified for this assignment and have been scrambling to make it seem like I have any idea what I’m talking about.

Fortunately, the ballroom blitz finally ended. Howell was crowned and Hudson stuck around for some photos and to greet friends and other contestants.

By that point, Belichick had already vanished into the shadow realm through a side door. Hudson would depart soon after, waving to the crowd as she left through the back of the stage.

I had a much less glamorous exit. I went to the lobby to write my story.

At least I got a bunch of free mints in the process.