Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray recently took to her social media to share a ‘raw and real’ moment as she bid farewell to her parents, whom she met after a year and a half due to the coronavirus pandemic. Catriona shared a lot of pictures with her parents during their time together in Australia.
The beauty queen took some time off work and travelled to Australia and was reunited with her family after staying apart for almost a year and a half due to the pandemic. Catriona shared a picture of her where she can be seen holding back her tears and she wrote, "When I said goodbye to my parents at the airport, underneath my mask I kept smiling. Although it trembled. I didn't want them to see it. We hugged, saying ‘see you soon. But this pandemic makes a once easy thing such an uncertainty...when? how? When will we be together again?"
The diva further mentioned that she was emotional as she had to leave her parents in Australia and travel back to the Philippines to carry out her work commitments. She stated that she did not want her parents to see her emotional, so, she rounded the corner through the passenger terminal, finally out of their sight, and let the tears come through. She is the only child of a Scottish-born Australian father, Ian Gray, and a Filipino mother, Normita Magnayon, and the three are a very close-knit family.
Catriona has never shied from expressing her emotions and bidding goodbye to her parents was an emotional thing for her and after a lot of contemplation, she decided to post the picture and her feelings because she felt it was ‘raw and real’ and everyone should understand the importance of being able to cherish the moments they have with their loved ones. "I'm so grateful for the time I had with my family. And now it's back to counting down the days, the sunrises, the nights until we're together again. Please never take time with your family or loved ones for granted; so many of us wish that reality was available every day," she said.
Catriona moved to the Philippines in 2011 and pursued her career as a model and, with her hard work and dedication, was crowned Miss Universe 2018. During her Miss Universe reign, she resided in New York, after which she returned to the Philippines where she has since entered showbiz.
The beauty queen is travelling back to the Philippines as she will be hosting the coronation ceremony for Binibining Pilipinas 2021 along with Nicole Cordoves on 11th July 2021. The former beauty queens will start preparing for their all-female hosting competition.