Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach cries tears of joy

The Miss Universe pageant's coronation night on December 20 (December 21 in the Philippines) became a controversial one after host Steve Harvey made a mistake in announcing the winner. 

Harvey initially announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo as the winner, then proceeded to apologize and explain that he had made a mistake and that Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach had actually won the crown.

The 26-year-old Filipina-German beauty queen may have had a “non-traditional” crowning moment, but she stood on stage with the regal bearing and class expected of a beauty queen.

The road to the #MissUniverse crown is never easy. A message from Miss Universe 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. https://t.co/GO7VBf45MW

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015

However, a few moments after she was declared the winner, Pia could not help but become emotional as the reality began to sink in.

It took her three attempts before she won a beauty title at the Binibining Pilipinas pageant, which paved the way to her Miss Universe journey. Her first attempt was in 2013 where she finished first runner-up. She joined in 2014 once again but only made it to the top 15.

Backstage, the Miss Universe 2015 winner cried tears of joy as some of the crew fixed her up before she faced the media for a press conference.

—Bianca Rose Dabu/AT/BM, GMA News