After failing to nab the Miss World crown in 2016, fan favorite Catriona Gray is putting a sash back on for a chance to take on Miss Universe.
In an Instagram photo posted yesterday, Gray shared that she will be joining Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines), the local beauty pageant that selects representatives for Miss Universe, Miss International, and other international pageants.
“Are you ready for it? Today marks the reveal of an evolution of self that has been quietly happening away from the public’s eye for a little while now. It was in no way planned, but sometimes the stars align to make things happen,” her caption reads.
“Thank you very much to everyone for your trust and I hope you can join me in my new journey,” she also wrote in Filipino.
Gray is a Filipino-Australian model, singer, and television host. In 2016, she represented the Philippines in the Miss World competition held in Maryland, United States and was part of the top five.
She is a favorite of many Filipinos who follow the beauty pageant circuit. As of posting time, Gray is the eighth trending topic on Philippine Twitter.
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The only Philippine representative who won one of the “big four” pageants last year was Miss Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco.
Miss Universe Philippines 2017 Rachel Peters did not make it past the top 10, Miss International Philippines 2017 Mariel de Leon and Miss World Philippines 2017 Laura Lehmann failed to make the top 15.
The last Filipino to win Miss International was Kylie Verzosa in 2016 while the last Filipino Miss Universe winner was 2015’s Pia Wurtzbach.
Other known personalities joining this year’s Binibining Pilipinas are volleyball player Michele Gumabao and former Pinoy Big Brother housemate Vickie Rushton. The date of this year’s competition is yet to be announced.
