Miss Connecticut USA Candidate Advocates for Mental Health Awareness, Shares Recovery Journey
Jenna Hofmann, a musician and candidate for Miss Connecticut USA, is using her platform to challenge perceptions and advocate for mental health awareness. Hofmann, 23, is openly sharing her personal journey through addiction and recovery, alongside a recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
“When you have an untreated mental illness, self-medication is a big part of that process, and so, I really turned to alcohol and substances to try to correct what was going on internally for me,” Steiner said, as reported by sources.
Hofmann’s path to sobriety and self-discovery began after graduating from the Manhattan School of Music during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She described the experience as isolating and depressing, leading her to seek community in nightlife spaces.
“I didn’t want to feel as lonely and as isolated, so entering into bar club spaces initially to seek out community was my ultimate goal,” Hofmann explained.
She discovered that removing substances from her life, while a positive step, triggered more severe mental health challenges due to her undiagnosed bipolar disorder. “I would have these, frankly, psychotic symptoms that would just permeate within me all of the time, and so it was either I’m tortured by my own mind, or I’m tortured by partaking in substances,” Hofmann said.
A turning point came with a diagnosis from a psychiatrist, offering a path forward. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a plan, there’s a treatment plan, I can do something, and I can feel better,’” Hofmann recalled.
Today, Hofmann is embracing radical honesty about her recovery, dual diagnosis, and sexuality. She contrasts this openness with her experiences in previous pageants, where she was advised to conceal these aspects of her life for fear of jeopardizing her chances of winning.
“So, when I competed in pageants back when I was 19 and 20 years old, I was really closed off about these personal things,” Hofmann said. “I was advised not to talk about it and told that I wouldn’t get crowned because of who I was.”
Hofmann emphasizes that sobriety, for her, is synonymous with honesty. “When I came back into this space, I said, ‘No, I really have to be so honest, because that’s what sobriety is to me, is being honest,’” she stated.
She credits her partner as her primary source of support, along with the recovery and queer communities. “My partner is my number one support,” Hofmann said. “She comes with me to every event, so that is definitely my number one person. Outside of that, I have to say that the recovery communities and the queer community show up for me every single day.”
Hofmann views her recovery as a process of regaining control and recognizing the potential for growth even in the midst of hardship. “Hopefully, as the next Miss Connecticut and as the first openly queer Miss Connecticut, I can make space for other people to come after me,” she said.
Her initiative as Miss Connecticut is titled “Out of the Dark Mental Health Recovery for Youth.” According to the American Addiction Center, a significant percentage of individuals with bipolar disorder – between 30-50%, with some estimates reaching 60-70% – also experience a substance use disorder.
Hofmann’s story comes as Miss Connecticut USA, Jenna Hofmann, spotlights mental health awareness, drawing from her own experiences with anxiety, as reported in February 2025. She urges others to share their stories and emphasizes that it’s “OK to not always be OK.”
