Celeste Cortesi opens up about the mental toll of ending PH's 12-year Miss Universe streak
Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi got candid about the pressure of seeing the Philippines’ 12-year semifinal streak conclude during her reign.
In her guest appearance on Kylie Versoza's Almost Honest podcast, the beauty queen admitted that the pressure surrounding the country’s strong track record weighed heavily on her, especially after she fell short of making it to the Top 16 of the competition's 71st edition.
According to Cortesi, she was "shocked" that she ended her run unplaced, breaking the decade-long streak that was started by Venus Raj in 2010.
"I just prepared so much. [It was] obsession already, like there is nothing that can take me out of focus for Miss Universe. And I truly gave it my all," she said.
She continued, "What I feel very sorry or bad about is that people just see what happens on TV, but they never see the sacrifices, the hard work behind it, and they're just so easy to judge for the result."
Cortesi admitted that she was "pretty confident" that she could make it to the Top 16, which is why the outcome came as an even bigger blow to her.
"I remember, there's this video of me where I cried on stage, and I look at my mom. My mom was also [shocked]," she said.
Cortesi observed that a lot of Asian countries also didn't make it that year, and that she remembed how "half of the stadium walked out."
"It's not even about the Philippines, it's a lot of other countries that I feel they should have made Top 16, but they just didn't, and it was mostly Asian countries. So everyone was mad," she recalled.
Despite ending her stint early, Cortesi had to put up a brave face and finish the pageant. However, after it ended, the criticisms then came flooding in.
"I also got a lot of, as always, opinions like, 'Oh, you didn't do this. You didn't wear this. It's because of this.' People start trying to attack you wherever they can," she said, adding that she was "traumatized" by the whole thing.
"I remember I closed myself in my room when we traveled back to LA for like two or three days, and nobody can get me out of there. All of my friends, they were like, 'Come on, let's go out. Let's get up, let's drink or whatever.' And I was just like, 'No, I'm going to stay in bed for as long as I can,'" she continued.
After the third day, Cortesi finally decided that she had to snap out of her funk.
"I went out. I was still sad, of course, but life goes on," she highlighted.
The Miss Universe 2022 pageant ended with R'Bonney Gabriel of the US being crowned as the new queen.
Cortesi now seems to have found a new purpose as she has launched her new lip-care brand, Azul. She is also getting ready to be a first-time mom as she recently revealed that she is expecting a baby with partner Jonathan Sterling.
