“I leave the Miss Universe pageant with my head held high,’ says Gabriella Gonthier |16 January 2023
Gabriella Gonthier
Miss Universe Seychelles 2022, Gabriella Gonthier, has said that the Miss Universe pageant has taught her to inspire and empower people about their dreams.
She made the statement via Whatsapp to Seychelles NATION following her participation in the 71st Miss Universe 2023 pageant which took place on Saturday at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in the United States.
The winner of the pageant was Miss Universe America 2022, R’Bonney Gabriel. The first runner-up was Miss Universe Venezuela 2022, Amanda Dudamel, while Andreina Martinez Founier, Miss Universe Dominican Republic 2022, finished as the second runner-up.
Ms Gonthier said at that moment when she was on stage and she wasn’t called for top 16, she felt so at peace that she knew she had made it.
“I knew I had grown and I knew what was next for me and what’s next for me will be bigger. I take on the principles, I take on the lessons and I believe that sharing these experiences and sharing my lessons is always the best way forward to inspire and empower people and I can’t wait to come back home and empower people about their dreams,” Ms Gonthier said.
Ms Gonthier, who is expected back in the country tomorrow, Tuesday January 17, was among 84 ladies who participated in the pageant.
She said that although she wasn’t crowned as Miss Universe, she considered herself a winner merely through her participation in the pageant.
“When I left that stage I did not leave with any regrets, I did not leave with any bitterness, I left with my head held high and at peace and that’s when I knew that I had been transformed and genuinely I was a winner because 27 years after Seychelles’ first participation at the Miss Universe pageant, I gave my country hope again,” she said.
The Miss Universe Seychelles 2022 added that she had showed people through her participation in the pageant that they should never limit themselves or let alone be denied on their path.
Ms Gonthier is the second Miss Universe Seychelles to represent the country at the international pageant after Maria Payet did so some 27 years ago, even before the former was born.
The 24-year-old left the country on December 17, 2022 to take part in the competition. She is not new to beauty pageants having been crowned Miss Regatta in 2018, winning the prize for Best Creative Costume in Miss Seychelles 2020 and winning the Miss University Africa Tourism 2021 title at the Miss University Africa Pageant in 2021. She was appointed as Miss Universe Seychelles 2022 on June 9.
Patrick Joubert