It was the internet moment of 2015. When Miss Universe host Steve Harvey wrongly announced Miss Colombia as the winner of the pageant, then walked back on to the stage to say he’d made a terrible mistake, he became the target of online abuse. A lot of the anger was also directed at Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, the rightful winner.
What a lot of people didn’t know then was the battles the 27-year-old had to fight to be on that Las Vegas stage that night — and that no amount of criticism was going to rattle her.
“It’s because I’m very stubborn,” Wurtzbach says, laughing. “When I want something really badly, whether it’s good or bad, I never stop until I get it. It’s part of the way I was brought up. I was brought in an environment with a lot of challenges, so I wasn’t going to give up on that.”
Born in Germany to a German father and a Filipino mother, Wurtzbach’s parents separated when she was four. She moved with her mother back to the Philippines and, at a very early age, became the breadwinner of the family by doing odd modelling and acting jobs.
Soon, the pageant bug bit.
But the path to being a beauty queen in pageant-obsessed Philippines wasn’t easy. She was often criticised for her looks and she was told she was not Filipino enough. Wurtzbach placed fifth at the Binibining Pilipinas, the pageant that sends the country’s representatives to the Miss Universe contest, in 2013. She tried again the next year, and barely made it to the Top 15. Refusing to give up, she made another attempt, eventually winning the crown in 2015.
Of course, she had many moments of doubts, she says.
“There were many times I thought, ‘Is this really a good idea? Should I push through with this? Am I setting myself up for failure?’,” she recalls. “But it was important for me to stay realistic with my goals, and that’s what I did.
“I was still in the age range anyway. I would have been an embarrassment if I lost for the third time, but there were more pros and cons. That’s why I went for it.”
Wurzbach will share her inspiring story, and style and beauty tips, at an event at Dragon Mart 2 in Dubai on November 18. The event will mark her first trip to the UAE.
“l’ll be touring all the iconic buildings, trying out the amazing food and meeting people. I know there’s a massive Filipino community and I can’t wait to meet everyone,” she says.
Currently based out of New York as part of her Miss Universe tenure, Wurtzbach has made good on her promises of tackling the HIV/AIDS issues, actively campaigning for awareness and fighting the stigma of the disease.
She says she picked this cause because it hit close to home.
“When I was in the pageant in the Philippines, I noticed that a lot of the girls didn’t want to talk about this because they were scared about the repercussions or because they were misinformed. For me, it was very personal. When it hits really close to home, it impacts you in a very different way,” she says.
We haven’t won the fight against HIV, but we’ve definitely come a long way, she adds.
“If you look at the numbers from 20 years ago, there’s definitely been improvement. But we still need to focus on countries that have very strict regulations when it comes to testing and health care,” she says. “Yes, we are moving to different topics [about the disease] now. We have medicines to treat people to help them lead normal lives. But there are still countries that don’t have access to any of them. So we need to work on that.”
While life has changed since winning the crown, she says she’s not complaining.
“It’s more than anything I expected it to be,” she says. “It has a lot of bonuses that I didn’t think would come my way. But I’m the type of person who, whatever you throw at me, I can make something out of it.”
The only disadvantages are that it’s hard to date, she says, and she had to get used to flying a lot.
“I was a nervous flyer before, but now I’ve gotten used to it,” says Wurtzbach, who is rumoured to be dating Filipino-Swiss race car driver Marlon Stockinger.
But her biggest achievement as a Miss Universe, she says, is helping to bring the pageant home to the Philippines next year. The country last hosted the pageant in 1994.
Earlier this month, Philippines Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo confirmed her country would host the beauty pageant, with the coronation night to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Manila’s Diosdado Macapagal Highway on January 30.
Wurtzbach says she had to pull a lot of strings.
“First we had to come up with the idea, then we had to get the message out there to see if people were interested. Also we wanted the private sector to really get involved, and after a lot of visits, things started to fall into place. And the rest is history …
“I would love for the girls to tour around, see all the different islands,” she adds. “There is so much more to the Philippines than just Manila. The beauty is in the neighbouring islands. and I want to showcase the most of Philippines.”
As for Harvey, who is contracted to also host the next pageant, she says she’s still in touch with him regularly.
“I’m very excited for him to jump on board for the next pageant,” she says. “Of course, I’ll be there to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Don’t miss it
Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach will host a free-to-attend lifestyle event at Dragon Mart 2 at 6pm on Friday, November 18. She will share fashion and beauty tips followed by a meet-and-greet. The event will take place at the main atrium.
