An Upper East Side songwriter is getting a second chance to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a beauty queen — even if it means competing at age 44 against women half her age.
Maura Matlak is throwing her tiara in the ring and suiting up to compete in the Miss New York USA pageant, a preliminary for Miss USA, about two decades after she missed out on her chance for eligibility under the competition’s former age-limit ceiling.
“I had to face the fact that that door was now closed to me forever and it was the end of my dream,” she recalled thinking – before this past September, when the Miss Universe Organization, which oversees local pageants, announced it was scrapping the competition’s longstanding age limit of 28.
Back in 2005, Matlak, then 26, was forced to bow out of the state pageant at the last minute, opting for a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to record an album instead.
By the time she was able to prep for a pageant again, the Manhattan resident had aged out.
“This is ‘my one that got away,’ ” she told The Post, describing how she viewed her disappointment afterward. “For these past two decades, I had this quiet, whispering but persistent voice, ‘What if?’ I felt like I let my childhood self down because I didn’t achieve that dream.”
Now the singer and writer, who also gives private music lessons to kids, said, ”How often do we get second chances in life?”
She acknowledged that momentary panic initially did set in as she asked herself, “Could I really do this, now, at this age?”
But Matlak, one of a few other older wannabe-beauty queens, is lining up in her 4-inch platform heels to give the whippersnappers a run for their sashes.
“This is my year,” declared the beauty-queen hopeful — who is single but wants to get married and have children.
“I’ve been training for this since the moment [the age cast-off] was announced,” said the Massachusetts native — while admitting that her downstairs neighbors probably don’t love her late-night struts around her apartment, squeezing her size 7 feet into heels again for the first time in years.
Matlak is in full prep mode: ditching drinks and brunch with the girls, hiring a sought-after “pageant trainer” to whip her into swimsuit-portion shape and cutting out dating and dairy, two “indulgences” that will be on hold until after the June pageant.
“I made the commitment to myself that I would cut out any distractions,” she said.
There’s a lot more she brings to the table now, too, she said.
Armed with the local title of”Miss Radio City,” the quadragenarian looks at this opportunity through an entirely different lens than she did in her 20s.
“My intention is to start a conversation about women and what it means to get older as a woman in our society – because my mission is much different now than it was at age 26,” she said.
Matlak said she will stand on the stage now for all the “older women out there who look in the mirror and wonder, ‘Has my ship sailed? Is it too late for me?’ “
The singer, who believes in “breaking the rules,” is also all about shattering tired – and tedious – societal expectations.
As a vocalist who has performed on some the world’s most celebrated stages, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center — and who had a musical produced off the West End in London — Matlak said she wants to show all the 20-somethings who “dread getting older” and feel an artificial pressure to tick off every life milestone by 30 that the best is yet to come.
But not everyone thinks there’s life – or at least beauty – after 28.
The rule change has brought out ugly dissent by critics who blast the move as a “downright mockery” of beauty, Matlak said.
Ageists insist the change invites something as outrageous and unseemly as an “80-year-old walking across the stage in a swimsuit” a la Martha Stewart’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover, Matlak said.
“This only makes me even more excited to compete in June,” said the singer — who is wearing a custom-designed gown made with pieces of fabric from the dress she was supposed to compete in back in 2005 .
Reigning Miss New York USA Rachelle di Stasio has welcomed the scrapped age limit, telling The Post, “Age should never define or limit what you want to accomplish in life.”
The “inclusive” decision will help change the “ingrained perception of beauty,” said the 27-year-old from the Upper West Side.
“I would compete after 28,” she said.
Contestants still have to be at least 18 to participate.
“Research has shown a lack of self-confidence is the #1 obstacle for women to overcome in trying to reach their potential,” Miss Universe Organization wrote on its website. “By developing self-confidence through MUO experiences, women have gone on to high-profile careers in government, business, finance, broadcasting, and entertainment.”
A pageant rep added to The Post, “We are thrilled with the elimination of the age limitation. Along with the other recent changes of allowing married, divorced, pregnant, and/or women with children to compete, now all adult women will have the opportunity to participate.
“This aim of inclusion is one that opens up the door for so many other women to be seen and heard, to share their stories, and to make an impact. This year we will be lucky enough to watch women accomplish goals that once seemed impossible.”
While the representative noted that the application process has only just started, women north of 28 have expressed interest in competing, including former contestants who thought they “aged out” and some first-time competitors.
“Some perhaps didn’t have the confidence to compete when they were younger, but now are more comfortable and confident in who they are,” the rep said.
Matlak said of her 20-something self, “I wanted to win a pageant.
“And now I have a deep purpose – I now see it was meant to happen this way. That was not my time, this is. I’m competing because I believe women of every age deserve visibility for the contributions we are making. I’m competing to fight against ageism and promote the beauty and grace of getting older.”
Whatever happens in June on that stage, one thing is clear.
“At the end of the day, this second chance I’ve been given – is about taking it and making the most of it,” Matlak said. “Dreams have no expiration date.”
