In a heartfelt interview, Chidimma Adetshina, recently crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, opened up about her emotional journey.
Following her victory, she expressed a sense of accomplishment but also acknowledged the inner struggles she continues to face.
“I’m still not okay. I am a lot better than what I was before. I think before I was just really hiding it a lot, but I had to acknowledge it and I think I really did a great job and I used that little last strength that I had.
“I’m glad that it’s all done, so now I can sit back and be like, ‘You know what, it’s time to focus on you’. I need to focus on myself, I need to focus on my mental health and I think that’s really important right now.
“I haven’t seen a therapist. Now that I am back, that is something that I am definitely looking forward to, so that I can just unbox all those emotions,” shared Adetshina.
Her challenges also affected her family back in South Africa.
Despite not being present at the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico, her parents watched with pride as Adetshina achieved her dream.
“My parents were not in Mexico but they were definitely watching from South Africa. It was such an emotional one for them because I literally video called them and they were so happy, they were so proud and they were crying because they thought that I’ve been through so much and never thought that I was this strong.
“There were so many times that they said ‘Just leave it, don’t worry, better things will come’, and I was like ‘There’s nothing better that can come, this is my moment’. They were really just so proud of me.”
While she was in Mexico, the South African government was in talks about confiscating her passport and ID.
“It was also emotional for me. I was like ‘Oh my God, again. Am I going to go through the same process again?’ I actually felt that I was sort of withdrawing and getting back into those emotions that I went through the first time, but I know that now this whole competition is done, so that’s something I focus on.”
She understood that people are vested in her story and promised to open up about it in due course.
“I haven’t been home, I haven’t heard anything, I haven’t sat down with a lawyer, so I can’t say things I am not prepared for. Once I get everything sorted out, it is definitely something that I will open up with and give people clarity on.”
When speaking about her role as Miss Africa and Oceania, Adetshina expressed enthusiasm for the responsibilities that lie ahead.
“We all have different titles, we will be flying out to different countries and have different projects that we will be doing in these countries. We haven’t been given clarity yet as to what exactly we’ll be doing ... I am really glad that I get to be that representation for Africa.
“This (title) means a lot, I think it was really worth it, I wanted to get the crown, but I was so focused on not being stopped and not being laughed at ... people saying I’m not going to win.
“When I think throughout the whole process, I said ‘Listen, it’s not even about that anymore, you’ve been through so much, you’ve learnt so much, you’ve grown so much, I feel like you should really focus on a lot more than just wanting the crown’ ...
“I had to focus my mind on making sure I achieve what I really wanted to ... I was good with Top 30. The fact that I exceeded my expectations, I’m really proud of myself,” she shared.
Looking ahead, Adetshina commented on her next steps post-pageantry.
“What’s next? It is definitely not pageantry. I am putting the pageant to bed right now, but I am going to focus more on my education and establishing who Chidima is.
“More into runways, more into acting, so many things that I would like to touch on and see where my potential can go to, really looking forward to that.”
Watch the full interview below.