Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez has spoken out after the Miss Universe 2015 debacle on Sunday, December 20 — thanking supporters and accepting her unfortunate fate.
The 21-year-old beauty queen was momentarily awarded the title of Miss Universe 2015 when host Steve Harvey read the wrong name off the results card during his now-infamous television gaffe.
But despite many commentators, including Miss Germany, and the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, wishing Gutierrez had been the ultimate winner, the pageant contestant herself says she's at peace with the situation. Click here to find out how celebs like Sofia Vergara reacted.
"After the storm comes the calm," the dark-haired beauty wrote via an Instagram caption. "I want to thank each and everyone of you who have sent messages of support and strength. Every one of you has become an incredible human being in my book and I am the most fortunate and thankful for having the support not only from one country but from the whole entire world," she went on.
"Your destiny is written for you. And my destiny was this. I was able to bring happiness to my country after becoming Miss Universe for only a couple of minutes… Today because of that COLOMBIA and the LATIN COMMUNITY are being talked about in every corner of the world. I also want to congratulate the Philippines for their new Miss Universe," she added, wishing Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach well. "The happiness that you must be feeling must be incredible. Life continues and in the future we will find out why things happen the way they happen. Thank you all for your LOVE SUPPORT and KINDNESS."
Following his excruciating error, Harvey apologized to Gutierrez via Twitter. "I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible," he wrote.
