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.
“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.”
