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The Singapore Grand Prix wasn’t the only exciting thing to happen this past weekend.
Glitz, glamour, and flashing cameras — that much we expected when we stepped into The Fullerton Bay Hotel’s Amber Lounge, where the Miss Universe Singapore finals was held yesterday evening (Sep 22).
Plush black sofa seats littered the event space and purple spotlights danced across the room as guests gathered to cheer for their favourite delegates. What we didn’t see coming though were the heartfelt stories shared by the 15 finalists, proving that it wasn’t just skin-deep beauty the judges were looking for.
26-year-old public relations account executive Charlotte Chia was crowned Miss Universe Singapore 2024, and she will go on to represent our country in the Miss Universe pageant finals in Mexico City on November 16.
Charlotte, who looked stunning in her flaming red bodycon gown, was also awarded the title of Miss Body Beautiful. Upon receiving her crown and sash, Charlotte took a brief moment to thank her grandmother, who has been the driving force behind her advocacy for elderly care and welfare.
Speaking to 8days.sg after the win, Charlotte says: “Honestly I’m still a little bit in shock. I’m on the verge of tears. I’m going to call grandma and share the good news with her, she’s at home, she couldn’t make it here ‘cos she caught a cold.”
Charlotte’s mum was in the audience to watch her crowning moment though. The older lady, dressed in a sparkly silver dress, was cheering for her loudly, blowing on her whistle the entire time.
Charlotte reveals that it was her mum’s birthday the day before, and we can’t think of a better present she could’ve given her.
“My mum was the reason I realised I won. My ears are a little blocked from the music, so when I initially heard my name I thought I was hearing things, until I saw my mum jumping like a giant disco ball,” laughs Charlotte.
Charlotte starts tearing up as she speaks about her grandma, who is 97 this year.
“I’m an only child of the youngest daughter, and she’s my only grandparent left. When I was growing up both my parents were working, so I would spend time at her place. She would heat up HL milk for me over the stove and I always joke that that’s the reason I’m so tall,” says Charlotte, who stands at 175cm. She adds that she returned to Singapore after completing university in Sydney in 2019 as she did not want to be away from her grandma any longer than she had to.
In second place was Adelene Stanley, a 29-year-old dancer-choreographer, and founder of local dance academy The Dance Circus.
Adelene is a single mother of a two-year-old girl.
“I always tell my baby girl that she’s strong and fearless. She’s why I decided to join this competition,” says an emotional Adelene.
“It’s tough with the divorce, and it’s something that can be very displacing for most families. I want to tell her that she’ll never be alone. Her dad and I, we are not together romantically anymore, but it is a new family we have to navigate.”
Coming in third was TV anchor and researcher Olivia Dewi Cinta Higgins, also 29, whose dad is Australian and mum, Indonesian.
“I’m mixed-race, so growing up there was the struggle of ‘you belong everywhere, and you belong nowhere’. But over time, I started to find my path, to embrace this uncertainty.”
Next on her to-do list? Flying to Hong Kong in November to train for her third Hyrox competition of the year.
Then there was Qatrisha Zairyah, Miss Universe Singapore’s first transgender finalist, who finished her history-making run in the Top 5.
To say that Qatrisha received overwhelming support at the finals would be an understatement.
Her friends and supporters, many of whom are from the queer community, showed up in full force, contributing to some of the loudest and most enthusiastic cheers throughout the night.
It was truly a testament to how important Qatrisha’s participation in the pageant was to her community.
“I’m feeling thankful for the achievement I’ve made, regardless of whether I win or not, I’ve won my people’s hearts and have been a great representation for them. It’s a tremendous success for me to be here in a women’s pageant, and to represent women of all backgrounds,” says Qatrisha.
When 8days.sg spoke to Qatrisha earlier this month, she spoke about her family and her 32-year-old husband of seven years, whom she met while serving National Service. We didn’t see her husband in the audience that evening, and thought we might have missed him.
When we bring him up during our interview, Qatrisha candidly reveals: “So here’s the thing. Sadly, we are going our separate ways. It was a mutual decision. We don’t want to put on a show. I know everyone is making a big hoo-ha of me being a married transgender, but it would be just a facade [if he came]. We’re still together on paper, but we’ve decided to go our own ways.”
She continues: “It’s very fresh. That’s why in past media interviews I was so happy to express my feelings and share about my 13-year journey with him. I think it’s time I let the media know that during my pageant journey, we made a mutual agreement to go our own ways.”
Now, Qatrisha is focusing on pursuing her modelling career, while being an advocate for her community.
“I want people to know my story and as the first trans woman who managed to be in the finals, it’s a huge responsibility for me. It’s about time for me to express more, and with this I’ll have more opportunities to represent my community,” she says.
Check out the 8days TikTok page for more behind-the-scenes interviews with the beauty queens.
Photos: Miss Universe Singapore, Adib Haziq
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