Three things: Mrs. Maryland surrounds herself with large, blended family

When a friend won the Mrs. Maryland pageant last year, Megan Myers decided that she would enter, too. In April, the 34-year-old Bel Air resident followed suit, earning the title that Harford County’s Julia Chang took in 2021.

“Julia was an inspiration,” said Myers who, as Mrs. Maryland, will spend the year promoting her favorite cause: an advocacy for blended families (like her own) and the success of co-parenting relationships.

“To be a stepparent is hard,” she said. “We talk a lot about divorce and the trauma it entails, but nobody talks about what happens afterward. Society has deemed that if you share your struggles, you’re not putting in the effort — and that’s 100% not true. There aren’t enough resources to reach out. My goal is to establish a nonprofit and a place where people feel comfortable to talk freely, so that others can help.”

Here are three things you might not know about Myers:

She and her husband, Brent, have seven children.

“People say, ‘How on earth do you do it?’ I say, ‘One day at a time.’ Sometimes when we go out to eat it’s difficult to find a place that will fit nine people. Bedtime is the most chaotic, when everyone is thirsty, like they’ve been running through the desert for three days, or they forgot to floss, or to give us a hug. Then there’s 20 minutes of saying good night to each other.”

Mrs. Maryland holds a first-degree black belt in Taekwondo.

“We [enrolled] the children in an activity that is athletic, while teaching them respect and discipline within themselves. I watched them and thought, I can do this, too. Our daughter Kailyn [15] and I got our black belts together. As women, it’s important that we know self-defense because this world is a little bit crazy nowadays.”

She was orphaned at birth in Korea.

“I was adopted at 3-1/2 months, sight unseen, by a family in Churchville. Growing up, there was never a time when unconditional love wasn’t felt. My past is a huge aspect of who I am. It gives me compassion and empathy for others, and helps me maternally to cherish my relationships with children a lot more.”