Beauty queen, Chidimma Adetshina, has revealed her decision to step away from beauty pageants.
Adetshina made history by becoming the first Nigerian to emerge first runner-up at the Miss Universe pageant.
The grand finale of the 73rd Miss Universe competition concluded on Sunday morning in Mexico City, with Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, emerging as the winner.
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“I am putting pageant to bed. I’m going to focus more on my education and establishing who Chidimma is. More into runways. So many things I would like to touch on and see where my potential can go to.
“I’m glad it’s all done so I can focus on myself and my mental health. I think that’s important for me,” she said in an interview with BBC News Pidgin.
She said her pageantry journey has not been easy.
“This journey has been so hard, and I don’t think a lot of people understood what I went through. Most times I try to open up about it, but I try not to say much to offend people so I tried to cover it up.
“Getting to that stage I was so proud, knowing I had such a tremendous amount of support, not only from Nigeria but from Africa. It was an overwhelming experience. Never once did I think I would receive so much support, and it was refreshing to feel so loved and accepted,” she said.
In another interview she reaffirmed her decision, citing a traumatic journey.
“It is permanent. I have decided I’m no longer going to do pageants. I feel like I did my best. I made myself proud. I made Nigeria proud, and I outdid myself. I don’t think there’s anything more I could do. It was a traumatic experience for me, and I don’t think I would like to revisit this again.
“It’s something I’m going to have to put behind me, but it’s also something I hold in my heart.”
