Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi. Cortesi/Instagram
"I was unplaced, now we can laugh about it," said Celeste Cortesi as she looked back on her loss in the Miss Universe 2022 pageant, a time she admitted was one of the lowest points of her life.
Appearing on the podcast of fellow beauty queen Kylie Verzosa, the Filipina-Italian recalled the time she did not make it to the Top 16 of Miss Universe 2022, ending the Philippines' 12-year semi-final streak.
"Honestly, I was also shocked... I just prepared so much with obsession. There was nothing that could take me out of focus from Miss Universe, and I truly gave it my all," she shared.
While she was not expecting a crown win, Cortesi said she assumed she would at least make it to the semi-finals of Miss Universe.
The pageant was eventually won by fellow half-Filipina R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States.
"I was just thinking to myself, there is no way that I can't make Top 16, babe. Come on now," Cortesi told Verzosa, who agreed with her.
"I knew that I was going to make Top 16 and I'm gonna fight from there. However, I didn't."
Going beyond her loss, Cortesi said what also shocked them was the fact that many other Asian countries such as Thailand did not make the cut.
"I remember it was not just about me, but a lot of Asian countries didn't make it that year, like Thailand and Cambodia... And I remember half of the stadium walked out," she said.
"It was just shocking. This never happened before. It's not just about the Philippines, a lot of the other countries that I feel they should have made Top 16, but they just didn't," she added, but also stressed that she respects the results of the pageant.
Despite the loss, Cortesi still "did what I had to do" and stayed on in the pageant with her fellow delegates.
After the coronation night, reality started to sink in for her. "I also got a lot of opinions, like 'you didn't do this,' 'you didn't wear that,' 'it's because of this.' People start trying to attack you whenever you can. I definitely went through another trauma," she said.
"I closed myself in my room when we traveled back to LA for like 2 to 3 days," she went on. "Nobody can get me out of there. All of my friends were like, 'Come on, let's go out, let's get up, let's drink' or whatever. And I was just like, 'No, I'm going to stay in bed for as long as I can.'"
"But this is how I cope with problems. I'm like a couch -- I don't move, I don't drink, I don't eat... I was just sleeping. I just don't do anything and then I go back to my senses eventually."
After her Miss Universe stint in the United States, Cortesi said she felt lost as she did not have any "plan B" in case she did not do well in the pageant.
But she was able to get back up -- after dabbling in showbiz, she launched Azul, her own lip care brand.
And this year, Cortesi is marking a new life milestone as she prepares to welcome her first child.
"I felt lost but I was able to find a new path," she said.