Miss Dominican Republic beauty queen Carlina Duran said Wednesday she never had sexual relations with her husband and lived as "single," after she was ousted from the competition for not telling organizers she was married

"In my daily life I remained single without seeing myself as being materially or spiritually married," the 25-year-old model said in a statement read by her lawyer at a press conference, according to the Associated Press.

She explained that shortly after her marriage in 2009 to Emad Adl, the relationship ended and both "agreed on a procedure to annul the marriage."

But the lawyer didn't make clear if a divorce had been completed.

The crown was officially passed on to runner-up Dulcita Lieggi the same day.

Duran, 25, was crowned Miss Dominican Republic on April 17 but was disqualified after local newspaper Diario Libre published a copy of her marriage certificate.

"It’s a very surprising situation," Miss Dominican Republic organizer Magali Flebes said at the press conference. Flebes indicated that Duran always stated she was single on her application form and during interviews.

The situation "is out of our control," she added.

Duran could regain the crown if Miss Universe changes its rules, Flebes said.

Earlier this month, Miss Universe announced it modified one of its rules to allow transsexual women to compete in its pageants after a transsexual beauty queen complained of discrimination.

Tags: Miss Universe