Miss Grand International 2025 Emma Mary Tiglao shared that pageantry has evolved significantly in recent years, with social media and digital content now shaping much of a beauty queen’s journey.
The 31-year-old beauty queen explained that today’s titleholders must learn to navigate a space influenced heavily by online reactions and public perception.
Speaking candidly about handling criticism, Emma admitted that, "I don't really handle them na lang. Parang sometimes, yes, tao lang din, mahu-hurt ka."
Her interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) took place on December 4, 2025, at Victoria Sports in Quezon City, during her launch as the newest ambassador of Hikari Aurum.
Emma went on to say that the changing digital landscape pushed her not only to refine her online presence, but also to develop a healthier mindset toward audience feedback—grounded in her belief that external pressure should never define one’s self-worth.
Instead of dwelling on negativity, she prefers to focus on the people who truly matter, though she still checks comments from time to time.
For Emma, every remark—whether supportive or critical—plays a role in shaping one’s growth.
As she put it: “Pero at the end of the day, you will focus na lang on the people who really loves you, di ba? Because sometimes, ano iyan e, hindi ka magiging ikaw ngayon kung hindi dahil dun sa mga [bashers na] yun.”
Read: Emma Mary Tiglao clinches back-to-back Miss Grand International crown for PH
This mindset also helped Emma handle the resurfacing of her old photos, which some netizens used to criticize her appearance in her younger years.
Several bashers dug up pictures from her school days and mocked her looks, but Emma chose not to let it affect her. Instead, she embraced those memories as part of her journey.
During her homecoming event at Holy Angel University in Pampanga, a tribute video featuring many of these old photos was shown—and rather than feeling embarrassed, Emma felt proud.
For her, those images were reminders of how far she has come and how much she has grown, both personally and professionally.
She said: "If you watched my homecoming dun sa aking university, the school where I studied in college... So doon, nakita yung mga old photos ko.
"Tinanong pa ako ng professor ko, sabi niya, 'Okay lang ba makita?'
"Sabi ko, 'Okay lang iyan, kasi that is Emma!' Di ba? Parang naging part talaga siya [ng life] nun. So... ayun, parang mas nag-focus ako sa mga bagay or sa mga tao na mahal ko [instead of the negative comments]."
EMMA TIGLAO'S BEAUTY ADVICE
For her, beauty ultimately comes down to one thing: confidence.
"For me, my perception of beauty changed in a way na... as long as you feel confident in yourself, parang that's beautiful na, e, di ba?
"I think magkadugtong yung confidence and you being beautiful. So you need to be confident first, you need to believe in yourself first for you to become beautiful."
And for her, the first step toward building that confidence is self-acceptance. This is also the core beauty advice Emma wants to share with everyone.
"Accept mo muna yung imperfections mo kasi kapag hinide mo yan, mahirap mag-move on on the next step," she said.
Emma continued, "You need to accept first. Ako, di naman din ako ganito ka-fair before kasi when I was in high school, I was just walking from school papuntang sakayan ng jeep, di ba?
"So, in-accept ko muna na ganito talaga yung life and then, nag-research, naghanap kung ano yung product yung okay sa akin.
"Hanggang sa nahanap ko na yung product na suitable for me. Di lang basta trending un ang susundan ko.
"We have different bodies. So, kailangan alam natin kung ano yung in-accept ng ating body.
"So, kapag na-accept mo yung imperfections mo, kapag nahanap mo na yung right supplement para sa iyo, and then move forward na. Learn to love yourself just by loving your skin."
Meanwhile, on a more practical level, she encourages people to always read the ingredient label—whether it’s skin care, make-up, or beauty supplements—to make sure the product truly suits their needs.
"Of course, I do check the label pero isa din ako sa mga tao noon na kapag mura or kapag may sale, bibili na, di ba?
"Pero kapag hindi ka dumaan sa ganun, hindi ka matututo. But right now, that I interviewed a lot of people na nagkaroon ng side effects, nang hindi nagche-check sa label, nakapag-interview ng different doctors, importante po na educated tayo at aware tayo sa nilalagay na natin sa ating katawan, especially during pandemic.
"Di ba? Yung naranasan nating pang-pandemic, natutunan natin na pahina nang pahina yung katawan natin.
"So, we learned what products or what brand or what food we need to take in para maging healthy tayo."
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