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Thai beauty queen Anntonia Porsild during the 2025 SEA Games. Porsild/Instagram
For this Thai beauty queen, the Philippines is "a country so close to my heart."
Anntonia Porsild had the honor of carrying the Philippines' name during the opening of the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.
Wearing sparkly jewelry and a custom Thai dress, she walked with the likes of tennis ace Alex Eala, who proudly waved the Philippine flag alongside Alas Pilipinas men's team captain Bryan Bagunas.
"Mabuhay Philippines," Porsild said in an Instagram post. "What an incredible honor to be able to hold the Philippines' name with so much pride at the opening of this year's SEA Games."
"A country so close to my heart, that I love, and continues to show much love and support for me as well," she added. "This moment meant a lot, and I wish you all the best in the upcoming games."
A pageant veteran, Porsild rose to fame for her impressive performance in Miss Universe 2023, where she finished first runner-up to Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua.
That same year, she became close to the Philippines' candidate Michelle Dee, with their tandem endearingly called #PorDee by fans.
This led to Porsild scoring gigs in Manila, including a magazine cover with Dee last year.
The two were reunited last September as she was tapped to be one of the muses of Mark Bumgarner's first haute couture collection.
They were joined by other Filipina beauty queens such as Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach and Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa.
"Thank you so much for having me as one of your muses at your show to celebrate this moment with you," she told Bumgarner, one of the Philippines' top fashion designers, in an Instagram post.