Pia Wurtzbach remains relevant until today, eight years after she gave the Philippines its third Miss Universe crown in 2015.
That’s quite a record for a beauty queen, if indeed it’s true that titleholders in beauty pageants are only famous for three years—Pia herself was told at the beginning of her reign as Miss Universe.
She said, “And then after that, you’re going to go back to what you were doing before. I guess in a way, tumatak sa akin yun.
“Sabi ko, ‘No, I’m going to use this as a stepping stone into the other things that I want to do.’
“Eight years after Miss Universe, I was able to continue doing what I love, which is being creative and creating content, creating new projects.
“And getting into new things, like my book and the businesses. So I feel very grateful for everything that’s happened.”
Pia continues to be an in-demand endorser and a familiar face in digital magazine covers, and is now a bestselling author of her debut book, Queen of the Universe.
She is also the most followed Miss Universe titleholder on Instagram with 14.6 million followers, which affirms her billing as a powerful media influencer.
Last October, Pia graced the fashion-week events in Milan, Italy, and Paris, France.
Pia, however, had said she still had to see all that dizzying fame translate into real dough.
Pia told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), “If I earned that much, I would have 10 houses in the Philippines!
“I think that’s just an estimate of how much the post costs because of the engagement and the reach of each one.
“I’m still trying to figure out how to translate that into the real world, like into work opportunities.
“It was my first time to learn about the media value. That was a term that I never knew before.”
PEP.ph interviewed Pia on the morning of October 26, 2023.
For this writer, who has followed her on social media, in press conferences, vlogs, and podcasts, it was a privilege to be let into the heart and mind of this fascinating woman fondly called Queen P.
INTERVIEW WITH QUEEN P
Pia arrived on time on the day of the shoot in Nüwa Manila, a five-star luxury hotel resort situated in the complex of City of Dreams Manila in Parañaque City.
Beautiful and radiant sans make-up, she entered her holding area at the Nüwa Spa with her glam team, greeted us with a smile, went straight to the sofa, and ate a sandwich quietly.
There was an unassuming aura about her. No diva attitude, undemanding.
As her glam team was working on her, Pia was busy with her phone, often looking down.
We got our cue to start the interview during the finishing touches of her make-up at around 10:00 am.
Recorder in hand we were ready to throw our first question, but Pia interrupted us.
She politely asked if we could wait just for a little longer until all the business with her glam team was over, “I’d like to sit down with you.”
Finally, with her make-up done, our interview began.
All throughout, Pia was focused and gave us her undivided attention, admirably maintaining eye contact with us throughout the interview.
It was like the last time when we asked her questions during her send-off press con as Miss Universe in November 2015.
Pia is cautious with her words in interviews, but always she speaks without guile, unafraid to show her true self—imperfect and flawed.
KEY MOMENTS IN PIA WURTZBACH’S LIFE
Eight years ago, on December 19, 2015, the country got an early Christmas gift with the news about Pia being crowned Miss Universe in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
That Miss Universe edition was mired in controversy when host Steve Harvey blooped in announcing Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez, the first runner-up, as the winner.
His mistake was promptly rectified, and the rest is history.
That momentous scenario summed up Pia’s hard-won success.
As she, herself, said:
She said that sponsorship was not yet a thing during her time, and without that support, she had to do everything on her own to finance herself.
All that, at the same time, she was a breadwinner looking after her family.
According to Pia, that experience “helped me mature and gave me the value of hard work, and perseverance, and also made me really value saving.
“That’s an achievement I’m proud of.”
PIA’S COLLEGE DEGREE
Pia admitted to her “little hang-up” about not being able to get a college degree.
She said, “I thought that that was going to be a huge disadvantage in my life where I wouldn’t be given opportunities, or maybe people wouldn’t take me seriously because I’m
“So, I feel like despite all of the rejections, struggling actress and model, having to really grind at a young age, and not having formal education, the odds were against me.”
Pia, however, did not let these setbacks get the better of her:
She remembered that “key moments” in her life happened by keeping the faith and not giving up — such as that fateful meeting with pageant trainer Jonas Gaffud, Mama J to everyone, who honed Pia to become a beauty queen.
Pia recalled, “I could have easily just settled for where I was. Imagine if I didn’t go to that mall that day. I wouldn’t have been discovered by Mama J.”
She went on sharing about joining the Binibining Pilipinas pageant three times before winning the national title.
“Imagine if I gave up on my first try, then I wouldn’t have gone to my second. If I didn’t go to my second, I wouldn’t have gone to my third.
Would Pia still consider getting that college degree?
“I want to do it maybe in a more quiet time in my life. When I decide to have children, I would want to keep my mind active.
“I’ll probably enroll in maybe a home study program or something that I can just keep my mind active. So, it is something that I’m considering.”
She is considering to take up a business course, which is very much in line with her present
What business is that, however, Pia is not yet ready to spill.
PIA WURTZBACK KEEPS IT REAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Being a celebrity, Pia has also become an easy target for bashing, the bane of famous people in this age of social media.
She’s been bashed many times for posting, unedited, her photos in swimsuit, all of which Pia shrugged off.
“I don’t really care anymore. Normal lang naman, di ba?” she said pertaining to her swimsuit photos.
“I was like, ‘You know what, this is okay.’
“Like, show your bilbil, and show your pores, and show it. And hindi ko na siya i-e-edit or ini-smoothen, ganyan… Minsan meron akong mga bruises or stretch marks.
“I’m just like, ‘Let’s just leave it and post that.’ And if people bash, I’m used to it already.
“If not, then we sent out a good message,” referring to embracing one’s imperfections.
PIA WURTZBACH: BEHIND THE CROWN AND BEYOND
Now 34, Pia entered showbiz at age 13 and was launched as part of Star Circle (now called Star Magic) Batch 11 in early 2000.
Being a public figure, Pia has always understood its toll on her private life.
The public practically knows Pia’s life story — broken family, her heartbreaks, the controversies.
She said, “They know about things happening here and there.
“So, it’s not always fun. It’s not very glamorous all the time.
“And I think there’s this expectation that when people see you in public, you’re always this happy person that’s full of energy, and that you’re always excited.
“But people tend to forget that you’re also human and you get sad, you get hungry, angry, you get sick.
“So, it’s not always easy, my gosh, especially for the times where you’re down and you just want to be at home and [be] under your blanket.
“But you’ve got to show up.”
She then confided about experiencing mental and emotional struggles during her reign as Miss Universe.
“That whole year. Because I have to show up. And I did enjoy it. The thing is, I enjoyed my time as Miss Universe so much. I didn’t have any absent days.
“I love the job every day. And I was able to get things done — be in front of people, and I sincerely really enjoyed it.
“The problem is when I’m alone. It’s when I go home and I close the door and I’m by myself in the room.
“That’s where the inner thoughts start overcoming the healthy thoughts.”
Conceding that she needed help, Pia consulted a psychiatrist and for added comfort, bonded with her loved ones more often.
That feeling of being lost and uncertain happened again to Pia last year after joining the New York marathon.
For seven months, she rigorously did physical training to increase her stamina for the 42-kilometer run, which she completed, by the way.
The bright side to that incident was the presence of British-Colombian entrepreneur Jeremy Jauncey in her life by then.
“I had a mini-breakdown to Jeremy. Privately lang because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do this year.”
“Like after training for seven months for a goal, you don’t really think about the after.
“Nawala na yung routine ko. And then all of that affected my mental health.
“The thing is, to me, I don’t have any other choice. That’s how I think about it.
“I could just accept this feeling and let it eat me up completely, or I could do small steps to get myself [back].
“It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not like I wake up one day and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m okay. I’m gonna go to the gym,’ of course, not.”
In her case, she said she had to drag herself to the door to do things, such as hitting the gym and listening to motivational podcasts.
“And then I surround myself with people who are positive and who are getting things done.
“It’s those little decisions that you make. It’s not an overnight thing for sure. It’s a slow crawl out of that slump.”
PIA, THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
In September 2023, Pia ticked being a book author off her bucket list.
She has written Queen of The Universe, a fiction novel about the journey of a beauty queen’s search for a deeper purpose.
Talking about the launch of her book, a collaboration between ABS-CBN Books and Tuttle Publishing, Pia said, “At the beginning of the year, there are some projects.
“I wasn’t sure if it was still going to happen. And this was one of them. This has been something we were planning for a few years now.
“It was ready to launch before the pandemic. And then, of course, a lot of things happened, even with ABS-CBN.
“So, I was thinking, ‘Are we going to put the project on hold? Is this going to be delayed?’ But everything worked out okay in the end.
“I’m really proud of how it’s doing. And it’s a bestseller. I want to highlight, though, that I’m very, very grateful.”
PIA WURTZBACH AS MRS. JAUNCEY
Pia and Jeremy had a very private wedding on March 24, 2023.
It’s been nine months, so how has it been?
Pia beamed, “It’s been great. I feel very safe in the relationship. Wala namang masyadong nagbago since we got married.
Theirs is an unconventional marriage, with Jeremy being based in Dubai and Pia being here in the Philippines, if not traveling.
Beaming with confidence and assurance, she continued, “We try to see each other every month.
“And he’s very supportive in the things I want to do in my career, so he’s not pressuring me in any way.
“And I feel very safe even when we don’t see each other for weeks at a time. I never worry that, baka ganyan, may ginagawa. It never even crossed my mind.
“This guy loves me. I’m sure of it. It’s a nice feeling to know that I feel safe enough in the relationship where it’s giving me room to have more focus in my career.”
She stressed, “We really care about family. We care about our personal life.
“We share our kilig moments on social media, but we also keep some parts of our life private.
“And number one, it’s just feeling safe in the relationship, especially if you’re not seeing each other a lot.”
PIA WURTZBACH’S LIFE LESSONS AND LEGACY
Ultimately, Pia opened up about wanting her life to be a testament that “the circumstances of where you’re at, in your life now, doesn’t determine where you can be or where you can go.
“You can come from the province and have no formal education, but if you have a dream and you’re hardworking, and you are relentless in your pursuit and you are also flexible, that means you don’t let rejections tear you down, then you can break out and make it.
“Because I had such a disadvantage in my headstart in life.”
She elaborated further, “Even when you feel like the odds are against you or you’re in a situation where you can’t control things, because your parents separated, because you didn’t enroll in the school you wanted, or it’s not the course you wanted, or it’s not the school you wanted to enter, or it’s not the job you wanted, you always have a choice.
“And the little decisions you make every day towards your big goal matter.”
Pia said with clarity:
“And unfortunately, other people are not going to do that for you.
“You have to do it for yourself. And that’s the best kind of legacy that I want to leave behind.”
She then related a touching story about a young girl she met during her book signing in Cebu.
Pia said she shook hands with this young girl in a Pink Filipiniana-inspired attire, who lined up to have her book signed.
Inside the book was a note addressed to Pia. She took the letter, gave back the autographed book to the young girl.
Pia read the letter when she returned to her hotel room.
Pia recounts, “She mentioned that she was inspired by my life story because she tried for many years to be a student leader, and then she kept failing.
“And then she also wanted to be a fashion designer, but they were telling her, ‘Walang pera diyan, ganyan.’ But she kept trying and trying.”
Inspired by Pia, the girl never gave up and realized her dreams one by one.
“Now, she’s the student leader. She designed that Filipiniana dress herself, so she is learning fashion design.
“And she’s also a speaker, and she’s going to speak at, she said, Yale United Nations 50 in Australia. So she’s going to fly to Australia to do a speech.
“And I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, and this is why I share my life — the good and the bad.’
“Because there’s no such thing as a perfect journey. And I think if you share even the not so glamorous bits of your life, it just makes it more real and gives people that feeling na, ‘Okay, kahit pala madapa ako, may chance pa rin.’”
Pia also mentioned the girl has a bracelet business as well.
Her eyes and face glistening with pride, she said, “Because if my story, me merely sharing my story to somebody, can inspire them to work on their life, and then they will then inspire some.
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jo-Ann Maglipon
SHOOT PRODUCER: Karen Pagsolingan-Caliwara, Nikko Tuazon
WRITER: Bernie Franco
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Igi Talao
PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Capuchino
PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT: Meinard Navato
STYLIST: Perry Tabora
ASSISTED BY Kris de Leon
MAKE-UP: Justin Louise Soriano
HAIRSTYLIST: Jheck Aguilar
ASSISTED BY Khino Ocenar
VIDEO PRODUCERS: Rommel Llanes
VIDEO TEAM: Micah Moleno, Jez Villapando, Richford Unciano, and Diane Cruz
TIKTOK PRODUCER: Nikko Tuazon
SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER: Chino Buenaventura
Shot on location at Nüwa Manila in City of Dreams
Special thanks to Romina Gervacio of City of Dreams; Anelle Charity, James Reyes and Cheska Summer of Mercator; Mark Yambot and Noella Ann S. Fonbuena of ABS-CBN Books
