Winwyn Marquez shares why she cried after the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 finals night
Winwyn Marquez cried after the coronation night of this year's Miss Universe Philippines, but it wasn't because she didn't win the crown.
In a May 15 interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, the beauty queen recalled how she felt when she fell short of winning the highly coveted MUPh title that ended up with Ahtisa Manalo of Quezon Province.
"We all wanted to win the Miss Universe [Philippines] crown, but alam ko na it's destined for one person and that's Ahtisa," she said.
"I want to celebrate other people's success. That's me eh, ganun ako pinalaki," she shared. "We live in a world that's so unkind already and the least we can do is to uplift others. And I want to see someone happy in their moment and kung sana, mangyari sa'kin 'yung time ko, again, not just in pageant, I hope they celebrate it with me, with the same heart."
Marquez, however, recalled crying after the pageant when her fellow candidates hugged her and thanked her for being their "ate."
"Tapos na po kasi 'yung coronation, we were lined up. I was looking back with the other candidates na nasa likod. Syempre, I formed a relationship with them," she recalled. "Paglikod kong ganyan, naisip ko, gusto ko silang puntahan, gusto ko silang kumustahin, gusto ko silang kausapin kung okay ba sila."
"Nung palakad pa lang ako, sila na mismo 'yung lumapit sa akin at niyakap ako. I think dun lang po talaga ako umiyak—hindi dahil hindi ko nakuha 'yung korona. Dun ako naiyak because they told me na 'Ate, thank you for being our ate,'" she shared.
Marquez represented Muntinlupa at the MUPh 2025 tilt, which was held on May 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. She placed 1st runner-up, while Yllana Aduana of Siniloan, Laguna won 2nd runner-up.
As the new MUPh queen, Manalo is set to represent the Philippines at the Miss Universe pageant that will be held on Nov. 21 in Thailand. Check out our full coverage of the MUPh 2025 competition here.
