How Winwyn Marquez’s cousin Michelle Dee played role in her pageant return
Cousins Michelle Dee (right), 2023 Miss Universe Philippines, and Winwyn Marquez, 2025 Miss Universe Philippines Muntinlupa/ARMIN P. ADINA
Actress and beauty queen Teresita Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez is returning to pageantry, and her cousin and fellow titleholder Michelle Marquez Dee had a hand in this decision.
Marquez, dubbed the “Latina Slayer” for being the first Asian woman to be crowned Reina Hispanoamericana, shared that it was through Dee that she learned that the Miss Universe pageant is allowing mothers and married women in the competition.
“She (Dee) was the first to tell me. I took it as a sign, actually,” Marquez, now a mother to a two-year-old girl, told INQUIRER.net in an interview after her proclamation as Muntinlupa City’s delegate to the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, held at the Edsa Shangri-la in Mandaluyong City on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 8.
Dee, who also spoke with INQUIRER.net before Marquez’s official proclamation, said she and her cousin have been talking for months about the crucial decision, and posted a somewhat cryptic message on social media that got pageant fans talking.
“It wasn’t my call to convince Winwyn, because Winwyn and I have been talking for months already about this particular decision of hers. I think it was like more of my way of teasing the fans, and making subtle hints that it’s going to be an amazing year,” Dee shared.
She also addressed those who are vocal about their disapproval of mothers joining “Miss” pageants. “We live in a very ever-evolving universe, and I think it’s about time that we really fully embrace that intention of being inclusive. We should always see the beauty in what everybody has that isn’t age-restricted,” Dee said.
“I’m always a firm believer on being on the inclusivity part. There are changes in the production and the organization, though, that I’m kind of 50-50 on how it’s being executed. But it’s always a matter of how that is told visually, and also is the intention of the overall show,” Dee added.
She also said age limits have always retricted women, and emphasized that she is in favor of raising the age limit. The Miss Universe Organization had already lifted the age cap for the competition, which paved the way for the 32-year-old Marquez to join.
View this post on Instagram
Marquez revealed how she perceives Dee as a “perfectionist,” and shared the most valuable advice she received from her cousin: “If you really wanna join, and it’s in your heart, do it no matter what the outcome is.”
Muntinlupa’s Miss Universe Philippines delegate said that joining is not always about winning. “It’s also about trying. Because when you try you will never have regrets in life, and that is what’s important,” she said.
Marquez will face other fellow pageant veterans with international experience in this year’s national pageant — 2017 Miss Supranational finalist Chanel Olive Thomas, 2019 Top Model of the World semifinalist Tyra Goldman, and 2023 Miss Earth-Air Yllana Marie Aduana.
All of them will try to succeed Chelsea Manalo as Miss Universe Philippines, and once again carry the country’s colors on the international stage. The reigning queen became the first-ever Miss Universe Asia titleholder in last year’s global tilt.
