Ahead of the Miss Universe 2023 coronation night, Philippine bet Michelle Dee talked about her preparations for the upcoming competition, including a “more polished” snake walk.
In her last interview on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda before flying to El Salvador for the pageant, the beauty queen shared that she’s more than ready to take home the fifth Miss Universe crown for the country.
“Tito Boy, I am born ready, but of course, I really put in 100% of myself in the efforts of training,” she shared, adding that she continuously underwent strenuous training, especially in the weeks leading to the grand finals.
“[I’m] making sure that every aspect of my competition is ironed out, because I’m very hands-on with my journey. Everything has my input, especially my creative input,” she continued. “I believe we’ll be ready in a few days.”
The actress-beauty queen also emphasized that although coming out as bisexual is part of her story, it will not be the highlight of her journey to getting the highly coveted crown.
“Well, I am bringing my individuality there, that’s my whole story [but] it won’t be the highlight because I don’t believe that we should be highlighted based on how we identify ourselves. There’s so much more to my story that I love to share,” she said.
“I don’t want my sexuality to be the highlight, but I want my advocacy to shine the brightest when I’m there in El Salvador,” she stressed, referring to her advocacy for autism awareness.
Michelle also talked about her signature snake walk, saying that it has become “more polished and refined” with the help of her trainer Ian Mendajar along with Jonas Gaffud.
“All I want to do is to make sure that my execution is flawless, that I really amplify my assets, and that the Universe can see that,” she said.
Michelle made her mark at the Miss Universe Philippines 2023 pageant with her viral “snake walk,” which was inspired by her beauty-queen mom Melanie Marquez.
“When she models, hindi siya tumitigil, that’s something I take inspiration from,” she said in a May interview on the same show.
“One of my good friends [and] favorite photographers, Doc Marlon, he was like, ‘That’s what your mom does, she never stops giving the camera something,’” she continued.
In her Unang Hirit interview in May, the MUPh 2023 titleholder credited the name of her iconic walk to netizens who widely talked about it on social media. “Hindi nanggagaling sa queen ‘yung name, sa masa nagna-name ng walk.”
Michelle is vying for the country’s fifth Miss Universe crown on Nov. 18. She’s among the leading candidates in the fan vote so far, increasing her chances of progressing to the semi-finals of the prestigious tilt. You can help her secure the top spot by casting your vote on the Miss Universe app.
