Kylie Versoza: People's doubts made me strive harder to win Miss Int'l crown

She may have been prepared coming into the competition but Filipino beauty queen Kylie Verzosa seemed still in slight disbelief that she came home with the Miss International crown this year.

Verzosa, who arrived back in Manila from Japan on Friday evening, told reporters she did have doubts over whether she was going to win the sixth title for the Philippines in the said pageant.

"Definitely," she replied when asked about this. "I am human. You know we have our negative thoughts.

We have our positive thoughts. What's important is that we combat negative with positive, so yes, I did have doubts during the pageant. But I strove harder because of it."

The soft-spoken model and teacher from Baguio City said she thought her seemingly polished winning speech "wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be" and given the chance, she would've wanted to do better at it.

"In the middle I stumbled a bit. But I told myself to just go ahead. You know it's not perfect. I made it the best that I could," she said.

"Onstage, you don't know how well you're performing. You just do the best you can and see the results in the end."

However, she said she prepared as much within the month she had prior to the event, which she saw as her edge in the competition.

The steps towards the crown included going to the gym everyday, dieting "immensely," talking to designers she wanted to work with, visualizing herself onstage, and training herself everyday for question-and-answer especially through reading.

"I was ready for it. I was prepared for it. I prepared for it the most that I could. I prepared for the stage. I prepared for the interviews. I prepared for the wardrobe. Physically, mentally, spiritually. I prepared for it. It didn't come easy," she said.

"It was stressful. It was stressful, planning for it ... I wanted more time. I had to balance the physical aspect of it. I had to balance the mental aspect of it. I had to balance the stage part—the performing part of it. It was really about balancing all the pageant's aspects into a short amount of time, which was like a month? A month of rigid preparations," she added.

Verzosa, 24, admitted that she cried backstage prior to the announcement of winners, and eventually left it up to her faith. Even when it didn't match the gown, she came back onstage wearing a rosary from a fan around her wrist.

"When the first runner-up was being called, when the announcement came for first runner-up, in my head, [sabi ko], 'Okay na 'to, you can call my name na.' So when [Miss] Australia was called, there were still too many things in my head, but it wasn't Philippines. When they called 'Philippines!'... [I said], 'Are you sure? Talaga?' I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't believe it," she said.

"Lahat ng pinaghirapan ko, ng tiniis ko... Hindi ako handa sa moment na 'yon," she added, then joked: "Kung handa ako, then sana mas maganda 'yung pictures ko."

However surprised, Verzosa is embracing her win and looks forward to a "bright future ahead." "I feel so good that I get to give pride to the people. I'm happy when they're happy. You know I'm a people pleaser, so I'd like them to be happy," she said.

She also thanked those who assisted her in the journey, including mentors, designers, her family, and the Filipino people. "I had help from all of you. This wasn't only my journey, but your journey as well. And I'm so glad that I'm here and making you guys proud. That makes me the happiest," she said.

"So I stand here before you as your new Miss International, and I will do my best for the country. With this, I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me, and to a good future and a good reign," she added. — VVP, GMA News