Rough reunion! Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez finally sat down with Steve Harvey for his two-part special, Miss Universe: The Truth, following his epic Miss Universe blunder. There were tears, hugs — and a lot of apologies.
“You’re the one person that I really wanted to talk to, because of a mistake I made, I cast you into a spotlight or place that I never intended to, that I would not want to happen to anybody,” Harvey, 59, said during his daytime talk show. “I just want to say how sorry I am.”
In the flub heard and memed around the world, the Family Feud host accidentally named Gutierrez, 22, Miss Universe during the live pageant show last month. Gutierrez wore the crown and sash before Harvey realized his mistake. Looking like a deer in headlights, he then named the real victor, Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach, after giving the results card a second glance.
“For the country of Colombia, I never intended for this moment to be. For your country, but especially for the two of you,” Harvey said. “This finally gives me a chance to have a moment of closure. I wanted you to understand sincerely from my heart how I am as a person. That I would never do that as a publicity stunt.”
“It caused a lot of sleepless nights in my house,” he continued. “But no matter how tough that was for me, I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for you. And I felt horrible for that.”
Gutierrez agreed that she, too, had sleepless nights following the mistake. And she called it the worst night of her life. Gutierrez and Harvey broke down in tears, but they also laughed it off.
“You have to learn how to read cards,” Gutierrez joked.
As Us Weekly exclusively revealed, Gutierrez has also been in contact with Wurtzbach, 26. Wurtzbach told Us that she contacted Gutierrez after the debacle and that Gutierrez replied. The winner, however, didn’t reveal what was discussed between them.
Part two of Gutierrez’s interview with Harvey will air on Tuesday, January 19.
Watch the video above!
