(From left) Michelle Dee, Ahtisa Manalo. Images: Dennis Sulit via Instagram/@michelledee, Facebook/Miss Cosmo
Like many pageant fans, Michelle Dee is heartbroken over the results of the inaugural Miss Cosmo 2024 which resulted in the Top 10 finish of the Philippines’ representative Ahtisa Manalo.
Dee took to her Instagram Broadcast Channel on Sunday, October 6, to express her disappointment with the results of the Vietnam-based pageant. In her post, she admitted that she was sure that Manalo would win.
“Ako lang ba or sobrang sigurado ako na dapat manalo si Ahtisa?! Hayaan niyo muna ako mag Tagalog ha kasi ang plakado eh!!!!! I mean… The walk, The talk, The bio?! Sheeesh,” she said, while adding the hashtag “WMMMO” which means “walang magmomove-on.”
(Is it just me or I was very sure that Ahtisa should’ve won?! Allow me to speak in Tagalog because everything was perfect. I mean, the walk, the talk, the bio?! Sheeesh.)
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@michelledee
The Miss Universe Philippines 2023 titleholder briefly spoke about her sadness over the results in the comments of the fan page @forthephilippines on Instagram, using the same hashtag.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@forthephilippines
Both pageant veterans, Dee and Manalo coincidentally shared the same fates in their respective international pageants. Despite the Kapuso star’s strong performance in the Miss Universe 2023 tilt, she ended her stint on the Top 10.
The New York-based model nonetheless bagged several awards including Spirit of Carnival Award, Best in National Costume, Fan Vote Winner, and Voice for Change Gold Winner.
Meanwhile, Manalo brought home the Miss Cosmo Tea Culture Tourism Ambassador and the Cosmo People’s Choice awards in the recent global tilt held at the Saigon Riverside Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Saturday, October 5. It was Indonesia’s Ketut Permata Juliastrid who ended up being crowned as the first Miss Cosmo winner.
Before joining the Miss Cosmo pageant in 2024, Manalo was named Miss International first runner-up in 2018.