“I’ll forever be your Miss Philippines,” went the first Instagram post of Catriona Gray since she was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on Monday.
In the post shared to her followers — which notably doubled to two million in 24 hours — the beauty queen recalled that in her childhood, her mother had a prophetic dream of sorts about the crowning moment.
“When I was 13, my mum told me, ‘Honey, I dreamt of you winning Miss Universe in a red dress.’ At that time I thought nothing of it, and today my mother’s dream came true,” she captioned a set of photos showing her winning moment in Bangkok, Thailand.
Gray wore a Mayon Volcano-inspired red gown by Mak Tumang for her final look in the weeks-long competition, which saw her ultimately besting 93 other candidates from around the world.
“Where do I even begin? Lord God, I lift everything up to you — to glorify and honor you,” Gray said.
She went on, addressing her country and countrymen: “Philippines, what an amazing honor it has been to carry your name across my chest and to embody you in all aspects. I may now carry the sash of Miss Universe, but I'll forever be your Miss Philippines.”
Gray concluded her post by thanking each member of the team behind her Miss Universe bid.
Gray, 24, brings to Filipinos an early “Christmas gift,” after having clinched a fourth Miss Universe crown for the country after Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), and Pia Wurtzbach (2015).
source: news.abs-cbn.com
