Former Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava Celebrates 'Happily Ever After' Prom After Stepping Down (Exclusive)

"It was freeing to spend prom not worrying about anything else other than being a girl turned princess for a night," she tells PEOPLE

UmaSofia Srivastava is opening up about her magical prom night!

The former Miss Teen USA 2023 tells PEOPLE that the night was “straight out of a fairytale!”

On Instagram, Srivastava shared a gallery of adorable prom pictures on Thursday, May 23 — as well as a clip that showed her boyfriend spinning her around before they shared a quick kiss. "Happily ever after," she captioned the post.

“My prince charming was my boyfriend Axel, who has also been incredibly supportive throughout everything and I couldn’t have asked for a better date!” she says.

Related: Why Are Miss USA and Miss Teen USA Stepping Down? Everything to Know About Their Resignations

The New Jersey teen, who says her throat is still sore from “screaming the lyrics to Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," adds that her favorite part was “dancing the night away.”

“Laughing with my friends in a storybook venue and just prom in itself — which I think most consider a high school milestone — made me grateful for the present moment and reminded me how simple making the choice to be happy can be,” Srivastava says.

“It was freeing to spend prom not worrying about anything else other than being a girl turned princess for a night,” she continues.

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The outing comes just weeks after the New Jersey teen made headlines when she resigned from her title, saying her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” The move came just two days after Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt announced her own resignation, citing her mental health.

Hours after the resignation, Srivastava told PEOPLE at a philanthropic event that it wasn't her "first choice" to resign, but "it's a decision that took a lot of careful thinking — and ultimately, I'm excited to see what's next."

Although Miss Hawaii USA Savannah Gankiewicz has since been announced as the new Miss USA 2023, Miss Teen New York went on to decline to become the new Miss Teen USA.

Related: What Miss USA Pageant Queens Have Said So Far amid Stepping Down

With all that behind her now, Srivastava says she’s now looking forward to finishing up the school year.

“After final exams in the first week of June, I am officially done with my junior year,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’ve been working on my college essays and am going to take the SAT/ACT over the summer.”

She also has some exciting events coming up, including the 2024 Girl Up USA Leadership Summit with the United Nations in Los Angeles.

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In the wake of her exit from the organization, Srivastava tells PEOPLE that she’s happy.

“The stress of exams and everything else these past couple months [has] finally settled and I can go back to focusing” on what she loves: writing her blog and reading her book The White Jaguar at the schools she visits.

She adds, “I am honestly thriving!”

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