Fashion

Miss Universe Lets Her Hair Down In First Selfie

by Marc Cuenco

The coronation heard 'round the world is still being felt 24 hours later, but Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's first selfie lives up to her confidently beautiful title. The Filipino beauty posted her first Instagram photo after winning Miss Universe 2015 in a controversial finale last night in Las Vegas. Steve Harvey announced that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez had won, but admitted minutes later that he mistakenly read the winner on live television. It went down as one of the most talked about moments in the pageant's history, but for Wurtzbach, the win was also historic for her country.

"Forty two years of drought and now it finally reigns," Wurtzbach said. "Mabuhay! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat." ("Much thanks to all of you."). In the accompanying photo, the new Miss Universe posed with her crown of diamonds, sapphires, and topaz, her hair down to her shoulders and with less makeup than what she had on for the competition. Wurtzbach is wearing a white robe and a huge smile on her face — a cheerful contrast to the mixture of emotions that she expressed on the international stage just a few hours before.

To say that Wurtzbach has already had quite a rollercoaster ride as Miss Universe is an understatement. She received an outpouring of love and support not only from her fellow Filipinos, but from the pageant organizers and other contestants. And even though Miss Germany Sarah Lorraine-Riek claimed that none of the other women wanted her to win, Wurtzbach remained graceful and grateful for the opportunity she's been given.

In her first TV interview as Miss Universe, Wurtzbach told Entertainment Tonight about how she felt soon after finding out that she had won the title. "I was confused," she said. "I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn’t expect that to happen at all.”

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Wurtzbach was overcome with emotions after realizing that Harvey made a mistake. The producers then told her to walk to the front of the stage to finally receive her crown.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

"I had to ask my [manager] many times like, 'Did I really win? Am I really Miss Universe? Are you going to take the crown from me now?' And they [said], 'No, no, you're really the winner,'" Wurtzbach said.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Despite her joy and excitement for winning, Wurtzbach felt heartbroken for Gutiérrez and tried to console her after the show. "She was crying and then there was a crowd around her, the girls who were comforting her," she said. "I was actually very close to her already, but I decided that maybe it was bad timing to do it now — to apologize to her for what happened. So maybe I'll do that in the future." Spoken like a true queen... with a heart.

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