Cape Town — After a nail-biting Miss SA pageant finale, fan-favourite Onalenna Constantin has chosen to break her silence on a major slip-up she endured during a question-answer round.
When all was said and done, in a historic weekend for South African pageantry, Mia Le Roux was crowned Miss SA 2024, becoming the first deaf pageant victor.
However, not all had been well amid the festivities, specifically regarding pageantry finalist Onalenna, who was a strong contender for the crown.
Being oh so close to victory, the model, unfortunately faltered under pressure during a Top 3 question and answer round, losing against the clock in her interpretation of the question “What are some of the changes you would bring to South Africa as a nation”.
After a few moments of hesitation, the nervous contestant began to stutter through her response.
With a strong start of expressing her love for her country, she saw herself faltering when attempting to answer the actual prompt at hand, managing to say “the one thing I would change is…” before a buzzer rang out, signalling that she had gone over her time limit.
What’s more? In a moment of shock, she added ‘Yoh!’, before walking off the stage.
@vnbeautypageant ONALENNA in the exam to answer questions TOP 3 Miss South Africa 2024 #misssa2024 #misssouthafrica #missunivers #misssupranational #top3 ♬ nhạc nền – VN Beauty Pageant 🇻🇳👑
Following her mishap, Onalenna has taken to Instagram to reflect on losing the title of Miss SA. In a heartfelt message, the contestant thanked everyone who had a hand in aiding her pageantry journey such as her brother, mother, husband and supporters — in addition to writing a hard-hitting quote that read “If you’re not willing to look like a foolish beginner, you cannot be a graceful master.”
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In return, Mzansi flocked to her comment section in droves, with many fans urging the young finalist to give the Miss SA competition another try.
Here’s what some had to say:
@dr_thokozane_dyosini: “Next time you won’t be starting from scratch, you’ll be starting from experience. Proud of you baby girl 🌸”
@sam_dubazana: “In 2 years time please come back Queen🥺🥺🥺🙏🏻🙏🏻.”
@abigailvisage: “I still believe that one day the title will be yours. ❤️”
@adeolarinovia: “Please come back in 2yrs for real. You still deserve to reign, you still deserve that crown!!! You are still HER!!!🙌🔥👑❤️❤️👏”
@vio1yy: “My gorgeous girl !!! You looked so gooood in everything !!!!!!! You made it to the top 5 and that’s NO JOKE !!! I can’t wait for you to come back stronger!!!!”
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Picture: Instagram/@onalenna_constantin
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Compiled by Lauren Petersen
