Beauty queens Bella Ysmael, Stacey Gabriel share thoughts on Miss Universe’s removal of age limit

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Beauty queens Bella Ysmael, Stacey Gabriel share thoughts on Miss Universe’s removal of age limit

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Bella Ysmael and Stacey Gabriel shared their two cents on the removal of the age limit in the Miss Universe pageant. 

PUSH had the opportunity to interview Bella Ysmael, the first runner-up of Miss Universe 2020, and Stacey Gabriel, the second runner-up of Binibining Pilipinas 2022, at the launch event of Avignon Clinic's Syndeo Hydrafacial.

The beauty queens shared their thoughts on the decision made by Miss Universe to eliminate the age restriction for competitors. 

For Bella, the decision didn't come as a surprise.

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“I think it’s great. I honestly was not so surprised when they announced it just because I feel like lately, they have been taking the steps to go to that point," Bella said. 

“But I honestly think that it’s a good decision mainly because I personally believe that as somebody who wants to be Miss Universe, you would have to have the experience, you know, the maturity, and that comes from life experiences. So sometimes, not all of us have that kind of maturity when we’re younger," she added. 

While Bella admitted that she wasn't as open to the idea a couple of years ago, she said it eventually changed as she became mature over time. 

"So, I personally feel like when I competed back in 2020, I was a baby compared to now, so I really do feel like it’s a good move for the organization because, you know, age is definitely just a number when it comes to representing womanhood and what we can offer. Definitely, it’s not limited by your age,” Bella said. 

“It's a lot to handle… It really takes a lot of maturity, and yeah, I think the age part, it really is just about how you feel on the inside, it’s not how many years you’ve been on this Earth,” she added.  

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Stacey, for her part, described the news as an answered prayer. 

“It’s such an answered prayer, you know. I think it’s a really beautiful thing because all the age limit does is send a message that women have an expiration date, and that’s absolutely not the case," she said. 

“Women are beautiful at every age and I love that they’ve lifted that restriction because women are limitless and there isn’t a cutoff point for feeling your best self, feeling your most confident, and really putting your best foot forward, so I love that," she added. 

“I welcome that change and nakakatuwa, nakakaexcite na maraming mga pagintera na babalik, you know, na nadatnan na ng age limit na ngayon ay makakabalik na sa pageantry. As a pageant fan, that’s very exciting for me,” she concluded.

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