Newly-selected Miss Bulgaria 2009 Antonia Petrova said she has never tried to hide the fact that she has had silicone breast implants.
In an interview with Bulgarian-language 168 Chassa weekly, on March 20 2009, Petrova says that she never denied having silicone and that it was a gift from her Russian boyfriend.
"My boyfriend is rich and he is a serious businessman and I don't see why I should apologise for this fact," she told the weekly. "I have always been with rich men simply because they know how to take care of me," she said.
"I've never been poor and that's why I would not turn myself into a cheap prostitute, one that anyone can buy, " Petrova says.
168 Chassa says that Petrova was a regular visitor to Sofia's luxury bars and nightclubs, often seen driving a powerful Mercedes.
Petrova's selection as Miss Bulgaria led to many negative reactions in online forums, the media and social networking groups. Most comments suspect that Petrova's choice was fixed since it stemmed from a text vote. It was the first text vote in the history of the contest.
Petrova won 39.23 percent of the vote.
The fact that she was one of the oldest participants in the contests, aged 24, also caused people to doubt the fairness of her selection. Many thought that Petrova's runner-up was a better choice and that Petrova was unworthy of representing Bulgaria at the Miss World 2009 contest.
Now her words that she had silicone implants will only add to this turmoil.
This was Petrova's second attempt to win the crown after she failed two years ago. She has a degree in international economic relations and has spent several years studying in Moscow on a scholarship. She is also about to obtain a second degree in international law.
She was born in Pernik, just outside Sofia, a town popular for its working class population with many miners and steel workers. Her father is a municipal councillor in Pernik from the ruling Bulgarian Socialist party. Together with his wife, he owns the local Sapernik newspaper.
