Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach has shared a deeply personal reflection on her pageant journey, marking a decade since the experience that, she said, changed her life in lasting ways.

In a candid post, Wurtzbach admitted she hesitated before revisiting her Miss Universe years. “I’ve gone back and forth about posting this because revisiting Miss Universe forces me to sit with what it meant to me then and what it means now,” she wrote, adding that the process “requires honesty.”

Wurtzbach said her Miss Universe experience was transformative not simply because of the crown, but because of the people who shaped the journey. “My Miss Universe experience changed my life in real and lasting ways. Not just because of the crown, but because of the people who made that experience what it was,” she said, citing the care, guidance and sense of being valued “not just as a winner, but as a woman going through something transformative.”

She stressed that titles and spectacle alone are not what define the pageant’s impact. “A title on its own means very little without the right people behind it,” Wurtzbach wrote. While acknowledging the scale of the event — “a big production, amazing theatrics and a global stage” — she said the true measure lies elsewhere.

“The truest measure will always be the women who walk away saying, ‘That changed me. That gave me confidence. That opened doors. That made me believe in myself,’” she said. “Those voices matter. They always will.”

Despite the criticism often directed at beauty pageants, Wurtzbach described her experience as “real,” saying, “It was demanding, emotional, imperfect, and deeply meaningful.” She added, “I am grateful for it. I will never take it for granted.”

Although she is no longer active in the pageant world, Wurtzbach said she continues to care about what Miss Universe can stand for when it is led with purpose. “I will always care about what Miss Universe can represent when it is done with intention. The girls are not just part of the show, they are the heart of it.”

She closed her message with gratitude for the people behind her journey. “To the people who made my journey what it was, you remain family to me,” she said.

“Ten years later, I look back with gratitude,” Wurtzbach added. “It changed my life. And I hope, truly, that it can continue to change lives in the ways that matter most.”