Catriona Gray sends love to OFWs after being apart from parents for almost two years

Catriona Gray sent some love to overseas Filipino workers after experiencing what it’s like to be apart from her Australia-based parents for a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I won Miss Universe back in 2018, I made a vow to myself to see my dad at least four times a year, but since the pandemic, we’ve spent the majority of time apart," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I know I’m not alone, as so many families face the same reality in the time of COVID."

Knowing her dad’s old age, she opened up about getting scared of not being able to spend ample time with him. “I don’t want to one day, be full of regret for not having given time to one of the most important people in my life,” she explained.

Thankfully, after “rescheduled flights, two flight cancellations, swab tests, stress, applications, and waiting,” she has finally returned to Australia. Catriona is still a few days away from reuniting with her parents, though, as she has to quarantine in a hotel for 15 days. “I’ve been calling my parents every day, we’re all so excited. I can’t remember a time that I felt so much anticipation in the last year," she said in a separate Instagram post. 

"Reading all of your comments in my last post, my heart goes out to all of the OFWs, and to all of you who are also away from your loved ones, unable to come or go home," she added.

The former Miss Universe came to a significant realization from all of it: “Relationships and family are the most important things.” That’s why when she had to choose between postponing work and seeing her family, it turned out to be an “easy sacrifice.” 

She later acknowledged how difficult it could be for others “due to work, travel, and border restrictions and other impassable challenges.”

“I’m sharing my family and I’s story because I pray that I’d give some kind of hope to all of you who are away from your family, that your families will soon be reunited, just as mine soon will. Keep holding on to each other, even though it may be from afar,” she concluded.

Article thumbnails from Catriona Gray's Instagram account