Early career Bearchell began her pageantry career as a teenager. After losing her family home to a
house fire in 2009, Bearchell wished to pursue charity through pageantry after being inspired by the help her family received from organizations like the
Red Cross. Following these attacks, Bearchell received widespread media attention for breaking norms regarding the bodies of beauty pageant contestants, and for advocating for
body positivity. When one reporter asked her during a media event, “How does it feel to be so much… larger than the other delegates?” her response was "It feels great". Bearchell went on to place in the top nine at Miss Universe, becoming the first Canadian entrant to reach the semifinals since
Alice Panikian at
Miss Universe 2006; the eventual winner of the competition was
Iris Mittenaere, who had been crowned
Miss France 2016. After the end of her reign, Bearchell crowned
Lauren Howe as her Miss Universe Canada successor in 2017. ==Personal life==