Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Chelsea Manalo graces the cover of Metro to share her journey towards overcoming bullying and building her confidence to represent the country in the international beauty pageant.

“It wasn’t that nice at first because I was always bullied because of my color, because of my hair. I had curly hair, and I still do have it. And when you’re still a child, many won’t understand what your ethnicity is until I tell them, ‘Oh, I’m half-Filipina, half-American-African. That’s why I have this distinct look.’ And it wasn’t easy because I would always cry to my parents when I played outside,” she shared in the exclusive Metro story.

As a way of coping with bullying, she focused on the positive aspects of life from her family and friends instead of dwelling on the negativity of her detractors.

“Even if there are people who would say some negative things, it’s okay sometimes to just keep silent because bullies only do that because they want to get something out of you. And it’s never okay. Bullies are never okay. What you can do is just give them that silent treatment or not pay attention to that because that is not who you are,” Chelsea said.

With hundreds of candidates vying for the crown, Chelsea revealed what motivated her to compete in the recent pageant. The beauty queen shared, “I’ve always known that I’m an independent woman. I like taking risks and I saw it. Going through Miss Universe Philippines, I try as much as I can to just tell myself that I can, you know, and even if you have a lot of competition around you, it’s yourself who’s your biggest competition.”

Learn more about Chelsea’s inspiring story as Miss Universe Philippines 2024 on Metro. For more exclusive articles, follow @metrodotstyle on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok as well as Metro Magazine @metromagph on Instagram and Twitter and @Metro.Magazine on Facebook, or visit Metro.Style.