Michelle Dee gets heartwarming send-off gestures from Shamcey Supsup, Rhian Ramos ahead of Miss Universe 2023
Michelle Dee is being showered with all the love from her close friends as she is now set to fly to El Salvador to compete in the 72nd Miss Universe pageant.
Miss Universe Philippines National Director Shamcey Supsup, for one, expressed her support for the beauty queen in a heartwarming post on Instagram on the same day of her grand send-off on Oct. 26.
"Sending all my love and support to our Miss Universe Philippines queen, Michelle Dee," the former Binibining Pilipinas winner captioned her series of pictures with Michelle.
"Every day, I'm inspired by the incredible woman you've become—driven, purposeful, and always eager to serve. We're behind you all the way!" she added.
Aside from Shamcey, Michelle's close friends also threw her a surprise party to wish her luck in the competition, which includes actress Rhian Ramos and beauty pageant veteran Samantha Panlilio.
Also in the mix are designer Chris Nick, entrepreneur-turned-congressman Sam Verzosa, producer Javier Martinez, and runway coach Ian Mendajar.
"About a week ago, this bunch surprised me with a send-off dinner. Through and through they’ve been there for me since the beginning and I couldn’t ask for a better support system. All my love, always," Michelle wrote, sharing some snaps of her and her friends having a blast at their intimate get-together.
In an interview with Dyan Castillejo, the Miss Universe hopeful underscored that she feels very secure with the preparations for the pageant.
"I'm very proud of the outputs and the execution that my whole team was able to produce. I always try to look like I'm glowing everyday, but I think this energy, this aura is a product of tapos na 'yung crunch time and just making sure that I don't forget anything," Michelle said.
"It's a huge weight off of my shoulders just being able to focus on the competition," she added.
When it comes to the question and answer portion—one of the pageant's most significant and nerve-wracking segments, Michelle said that she has trained for topics such as violence, women's right and education, and inclusivity.
She was crowned Miss Universe Philippines in May. The grand coronation night is happening on Nov. 18.